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Qaddafi Is Dead, Libyan Officials Say
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- Aloisius 15y agoTo quote Andrew Sullivan: To rid the world of Osama bin Laden, Anwar al-Awlaki and Moammar Qaddafi within six months: if Obama were a Republican, he'd be on Mount Rushmore by now.
- mhb 15y ago“It’s a great day,” Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, said on CNN on Thursday morning. “I think the administration deserves great credit. Obviously, I had different ideas on the tactical side, but the world is a better place.” http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/21/world/africa/qaddafis-death-is-latest-victory-for-new-us-approach-to-war.html?hp http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/21/world/africa/qaddafis-deat...
- derleth 15y agoAnd that's why McCain is a RINO. /sarcasm
- brown9-2 15y agoSomewhat ironic for McCain to say so: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/03/john-mccains-twitter-archive-reveals-2009-gadhafi-meeting-late-evening/ http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/03/john-mccains-tw...
- mhb 15y agoWhy?
- harold 15y agoPerhaps that Nobel Peace Prize was a bit premature. I would rather Qaddafi had been brought to trial and punished accordingly.
- Shalanga 15y agoI wonder if someone should me punished accordantly when launching someone's country an atomic bomb. No punishment, just history... Everything a bliss.
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- hvs 15y agoI would rather that he had been brought to trial, but I think he was punished accordingly.
- tamersalama 15y agoI would say a court marshal ending with a televised execution wouldn't been better. This man was evil. And he was crazy. A violent death, no matter how, is what he deserved.
- huhtenberg 15y ago> This man was evil. And he was crazy. That's what they said on TV, didn't they? Must be true then. In other words - how do you know? How do you know the picture you are being fed by the media is accurate enough to assign him a "violent death" as a proper punishment? And without a public trial at that.
- burgerbrain 15y ago"how do you know?" He was a politician wasn't he? Seems proof enough as far as I'm concerned.
- redthrowaway 15y ago
- zerostar07 15y agoWhat shocks me most is that none of these (despicable) people lived to be taken to trial. Odd that the western world seems so comfortable with blood.
- roboneal 15y agoAmazing the shift of perspective... How many who voted for Obama (or at least against John McCain) would expect their vote would elect a President who would violate the sovereignty of Pakistan with a special forces operation, murder an American citizen without due process, and enter into armed conflict with Libya without the consultation of Congress and eventually assassinate a sitting head of state?
- sp332 15y agoWhich head of state did the US assassinate?
- astine 15y agoI think he means Gaddafi, but he was killed by Libyans, not Americans.
- thematt 15y agoPerhaps, but there are reports coming out now that a Predator drone fired on his convoy, so the US wasn't exactly hands off.
- maratd 15y agoI don't think the Libyans would have been able to kill him without our help.
- sp332 15y agoProviding material support to a revolution isn't the same thing as an assassination. Due process doesn't apply on a battlefield, but it should apply to a prisoner in custody.
- burgerbrain 15y agoI don't think it's known at this point that Qaddafi was assassinated by the US. The two more common things I'm hearing is that he was either shot by rebels or hit by a NATO air-strike, which is kind of ambiguous.
- astine 15y agoThe GOP might be singing his praises, but the Democratic Caucus would be screaming bloody murder about the lack of trials. It's all politics.
- cpeterso 15y ago> The GOP might be singing his praises. Not likely.
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- huhtenberg 15y agoDo I see a pattern emerge -- sitting on a large oil reserve and not "cooperating" with right people is detrimental to one's well-being.
- rytis 15y agoTotally agree. I just wonder who's next on the list. Any bets?
- nobody314159 15y agoThe new democratic rulers of Libya / Arab extremists - depending on them signing the right contracts with the right oil companies
- dredmorbius 15y agoCanada, eh?
- huhtenberg 15y agoVenezuela, probably, if Russia would let it happen.
- ugh 15y agoPattern? This civil war wouldn’t have been won by the revolutionaries without support from NATO but there still would have been a civil war. This civil war was not faked by NATO, it was very real – and all things considered the right side won.
- nobody314159 15y agoIf the people in some other Arabic countries did the same thing we would be bombing their ruler's palaces?
- ugh 15y agoShrug. NATO saw an opportunity and grabbed it. Were their motives pure? What do I care.
- mladenkovacevic 15y agoWell I'm sure there's nothing but good times for Lybians from now on right? /s Sorry but my framework of reference just doesn't allow me to buy into this as a great thing for freedom and "democracy"
- stfu 15y agoSomewhat sad to see that they killed that guy. Having him testify in Den Hague could have provided very interesting insights on how corrupt the so called "democratic" governments really are.
- forcefsck 15y ago"Democratic" governments with good deals for their oil companies and bad deals with their people.
- hvs 15y agoHe would've never been brought to the ICC. The NTC made it clear that they were planning on trying him in Libya if he was captured. And that would almost certainly have ended with an execution anyway.
- zerostar07 15y agoBush, Blair, Berlusconi, Sarkozy etc. Pretty sure too many people like these would be shamed by this lunatic. Maybe it's best that he died, the world wants to keep its heroes.
- aw3c2 15y agoYou might like the german satire magazine Titanic's recent image: http://www.titanic-magazin.de/postkarten.html?&card=14144&cHash=086dcb51a1a75308be3cab75ca43d619 http://www.titanic-magazin.de/postkarten.html?&card=1414... "Grief about Gaddafi" "He lives on in the hearts of his friends"
- civilian 15y agoI guess it's okay that he's dead, but I'm concerned about the way he was killed. A bunch of soldiers ran into his house, stripped him, dragged him through the streets, and shot him at some point. That is some Trojan War shit. I'm still not convinced that the Middle East is civilized... which is why I'm an isolationist. I'm not very reassured by this quote from the transitional government spokesperson: “We were serious about giving him a fair trial. It seems God has some other wish."
- mladenkovacevic 15y agoI believe that Libyans are by and large a civilized, reasonable people (just like Iranians, Iraqis etc) but if anyone in the West thinks that the rebel army is made up of regular, work-a-day Libyan lawyers, doctors, teachers and other civilians... then the media did a great job at spinning this one.
- sp332 15y agoSo who are they then? Are they supported by those people in the country?
- csomar 15y agoI have watched the Libyan and Tunisian revolutions. I can confirm that the Tunisian one was led by a particular part of the population (mainly the poor and forgotten). In the Libyan revolution, I saw all kind of people from different background, social and economical levels. Libyans are friendly, and generally quite generous and kind. That being said, I wouldn't be surprised that a good part of the rebel army is made of regular citizens.
- Florin_Andrei 15y agoI don't think he gave them any other option. Seriously, after all the bad stuff he did when he was in power, after drumming up war when things got tough - did anyone really expect any other outcome? I'm pretty sure he was determined to fight to the bitter end. Which he did.
- jcizzle 15y ago
- suivix 15y agoSo its ok for other people to link to this story but not me? Really arbitrary moderation here.
- burgerbrain 15y agoThe story and who was linking to it has nothing to do with it. Do a better job naming your links next time.
- thepointyhat 15y agoAll hail our new NATO sponsored, oil grabbing, media-spun murder (or victory as they like to call it). Who's going to be the next Emmanuel Goldstein now Saddam, Bin Laden and Gaddafi are dead.
- ttttrrrr 15y agoThe mood here is very gloomy. Back when they kicked out Ben Ali and Mubarak there was celebration on HN. I guess you're not really a dictator unless you're an ally of the US, huh?
- ugh 15y agoIt’s easier to be more joyful and optimistic about peaceful (or at least more peaceful) revolutions.
- ttttrrrr 15y agoI hope yours is the correct explanation. Nevertheless, I get the feeling that many Americans for some reason sympathize with anti-Americanist foreign leaders, even if their own people consider them ruthless dictators. (I'm not American, btw.)
- ugh 15y agoI have never really encountered anyone in the west who sympathizes with Qaddafi. I think his ruthlessness is pretty much consensus.
- nobody314159 15y agoThe same Qaddafi who was a "partner in the war on terror" when Prime minister Blair visited in 2004 ? Or the same Qaddafi that provided the `special questioning` facilities when the British secret service sent the current democratic leader there to be interrogated about terrorist links.
- ugh 15y agoThings change. Opportunities arise. Again: Shrug.
- Jach 15y agoThe sympathizing I've seen and sometimes feel is more along the lines of the US not admitting its own evil doing and how its actions cause lots of blowback that just hurts the country more. Then as with other comments here, it's annoying and disturbing that we've gotten in the habit of just killing people we don't like. It's a contrast to Saddam, whom we captured and gave a trial to, as well as interviewed for some interesting information (at the very least of historical interest). Read the transcript for the interview sometime; he may have been corrupt but he wasn't stupid.
- jsherer 15y agoThis article seems to be a bit "mainstream" for HN, IMHO.
- hugh3 15y agoIndeed. Flaggity flag flag.
- frankiewarren 15y agoSorry you felt that way, I enjoyed reading everyone's comments though. I just reread the submission guidelines and won't submit articles like this in the future. Still new around here. "Off-Topic: Most stories about politics, or crime, or sports, unless they're evidence of some interesting new phenomenon. Videos of pratfalls or disasters, or cute animal pictures. If they'd cover it on TV news, it's probably off-topic."
- kb101 15y agoOne interesting tech angle to this story and the other wars in the Middle East (Iraq and Afghanistan): the rise of remote-controlled warfare. http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/111003/drone-wars-are-drones-making-war-too-easy http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/... Comparing Iraq, a messy invasion that drug on for a decade and cost hundreds of billions, to Libya, a tactical exercise that lasted a few months and cost only a billion plus, might not be a fair comparison, but there is no question that remote reconnaissance, targeting, and attack capabilities have improved dramatically since 2001. http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/05/secret-stealth-drone-spied-on-osama-dodged-pakistanis/ http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/05/secret-stealth-drone...
- fuck_us_gaddafi 15y agoIt proves that the fucking United States of America will do anything if they want. UN is just a drama.
- fuck_us_gaddafi 15y agoAmerican Government planted this assassination, Libyans are just the namesake.