Our glorious (?!) victory in Libya

Our humanitarian war, waged ostensibly to protect civilians during a civil war, either came close to ending or has entered a new phase with the death of Muammar Qaddafi. "Death" in this case is a neutral description for lynch-murder, which is nothing worth celebrating. In this case it may have included raping the victim, just like in the "good ole days" in the Deep South. (Pablo Pardo, Gadafi, sodomizado en cuerpo y alma El Mundo 24.10.2011; Global Post has a story and some nasty video: Tracey Shelton, Gaddafi sodomized: Video shows abuse frame by frame (GRAPHIC): An analysis appears to confirm that a rebel fighter sodomized Gaddafi with a knife 10/24/2011.)

This video from Aljazeera English, Video footage shows 'Gaddafi's killer' YouTube date 10/24/2011, reports on the story of Qaddafi's execution while sparing us some of the more graphic video excerpts:



Kim Gamel in an AP report at the Huffington Post, Gaddafi Death Questioned 10/24/2011, quotes Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, the interim leader of Libya's National Transitional Council (MTC) offered this statesmanlike comment:

"Let us question who has the interest in the fact that Gadhafi will not be tried. Libyans want to try him for what he did to them, with executions, imprisonment and corruption," he said. "Free Libyans wanted to keep Gadhafi in prison and humiliate him as long as possible. Those who wanted him killed were those who were loyal to him or had played a role under him, his death was in their benefit."

I guess the days of the NTC being represented to the world by exile politicians who sound like cultured gentlemen speaking excellent English are now over. Maybe they've hired someone from the White Citizen's Council to advise them on how to market lynch-murders. It was standard for Klan bombings and attacks in the Deep South in the 1950s and 1960s for Klan supporters to suggest that the targets staged the attacks themselves to gain public sympathy. This is pretty much from that same playbook. Lynch minds think alike, I guess.

Our allies in the humanitarian war in Libya displayed Qaddafi's corpse for four days. Apparently with no embalming: Hannah Allam, Libyan authorities unsure how to handle Gadhafi's corpse McClatchy News 10/22/2011; Carmen Serna, Un cadáver 'abierto' al público El Mundo 24.10.2011. Amnesty International has found evidence that the new Libyan government, whose victory was facilitated by NATO's freedom bombs, is abusing its prisoners: Hannah Allam, Libyan rebels abuse, torture prisoners, rights group says McClatchy News 10/22/2011. Human Rights Watch reports on what appears to be a mass grave of Qaddafi supporters in Libya: Apparent Execution of 53 Gaddafi Supporters: Bodies Found at Sirte Hotel Used by Anti-Gaddafi Fighters 10/24/2011:

All the bodies were in a similar stage of decomposition, suggesting they were killed at the same approximate time. Some of the bodies had their hands tied behind their backs with plastic ties. Others had bandages over serious wounds, suggesting they had been treated for other injuries prior to their deaths.

And, oh yeah, Libya is adopting a form of Sharia (Islamic law) as the basis of their legal systems, just as Afghanistan and Iraq have.

Tags: libya, libya war