Former, as in "dead", Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi is no more. Libyan authorities report the man who ruled their country for 42-years was shot and killed today.
How he died isn't clear. Some reports claim he was making a breakout in a convoy that was attacked by NATO strike fighters. By other accounts Gaddafi was taken alive and was later shot, sort of like Mussolini I suppose.
15 comments:
Mound, I don't feel like celebrating. How many heads of states U.S will kill. Granted he was a horrible dictator then there are so many others including Saudi Arabian king? Where is all this going? Is U.S world police and world executioner? It does not look good for the world peace. Violence indeed leads to more violence.
Libya had oil and it would look that US was interested in that oil more so than human rights. We are creating a very dangerous world to live in.
I'm sick of hearing about this already.. lay off.
He tripped and fell into the barrel of a machine gun...yeah, that's the ticket...
I'm really glad that so many are celebrating an execution...
Makes you proud to be called civilized...
As for NATO, they have pretty much shown themselves to be tools of corporations....
why aren't they parading the corpse thru the streets?
"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy."
Jessica Dovey reacting to death of Osama Bin Laden
I think Dovey's words are the best sentiment applied to Qaddafi's death.
Mound, Gadhafi was indeed a brutal dictator. Please watch the following video and tell me if his killers were any less brutal.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/21/gaddafi-capture-video_n_1023881.html
If Arab spring means this then we should want no part of it. Mound, your reaction will be appreciated. As these events are very troubling and you have interesting take on them.
There's a difference between state sponsored institutionalized violence, and the kind of violence perpetrated by ill-trained rebel (only recently qua-government) militiamen.
The behaviour shown by the rebels is not unusual in a war (even though it should be investigated and punished, of course). It doesn't portend what kind of state Libya is going to become.
It's very difficult for us to comprehend the volatility that simmers beneath any repressive, murderous regime. The Libyan people have endured a brutal dictator for nearly two generations. Most of those shown on television were born under Gaddafi's rule.
Over the past eight months Gaddafi unleashed the military apparatus of the state against his own people, indiscriminately bombing and shelling civilians.
From our lofty, sanitized perch thousands of miles safely removed, it's easy for us to condemn Gaddafi's killers and the public celebration of his execution. I wonder how our gentle composure would have fared had it been our loved ones butchered by this monster.
I think that so long as Muammar drew breath, his supporters would have continued the fight at some level, probably an insurgency.
Mound, no one is questioning as to this man being brutal dictator but killing him in an execution style does not help the matters. It will give wider field to extremists for new recruits. Moreover the new leaders are talking about Sharia Law and another Taliban style government. This does not sound good for the future security.
Obama can wear another medal for this latest killing but that will not help him to win another election. As Clinton said in 1990’s that “it is the economy stupid”.
I suppose I feel repulsive to any kind of violence especially the brutality which went on in Libya on both sides.
LeDaro........you feel repulsed...not you feel repulsive
Anon, you're right. I noticed after posting. Then I thought it would be understood what I meant as you did.
Yes of course the debacle of the West's campaign in Libya has opened doors to Islamists. That much was readily forseeable back in February when I advocated sending the Egyptian Army and Air Force in to clean out Gaddafi quickly.
In the wake of the overthrow of Mubarak, al Qaeda was open about looking for some toehold in the region. The Egyptian military held them at bay but, just across the border, the Libyan fiasco gave them the perfect opportunity they sought.
Libya, Egypt and the West needed Gaddafi out by March, April at the latest. We chose not to bother.
It was that, not the execution of Gaddafi, that opened the door to al Qaeda. Now they stand at the porous border with Egypt and, just beyond that, Israel.
The best we can hope for at this point is some reconciliation government uniting the tribes. It will be Islamist but so what? Turkey's Edrogan heads an Islamist government and the Tunisians have just elected a moderate Islamist party to head a coalition government. If anything, Islamist governments are to be expected in any Muslim country that ditches dictatorship because it's usually the Islamist movements that alone have stood up to the tyrants.
MOS...This is very interesting and has led me to think about Israel a littlbe differently. October 24/25 and again this evening...Zionism From Within CBC.ca/ideas CBC radio 1. Cheers
An interesting blog post on this link:
http://ofgodsandothermonsters.blogspot.com/2011/10/we-became-brothers-in-love.html
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