Gaddafi cornered in a concrete pipe begging for his life

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Muammar Gaddafi has been killed after Libyan rebels captured his stronghold in the city of Sirte, it was confirmed today.

As news of his death swept through the country and across the world, bloody images of the 69-year-old tyrant slumped across the legs of a revolutionary fighter emerged.

He had been dragged from a storm drain where he was hiding before being shot in front of a baying mob. Rebel fighters described him begging for mercy.

Libya’s prime minister Mahmoud Jibril this afternoon confirmed the former dictator was dead.

‘We have been waiting for this moment for a long time,’ he said. ‘Muammar Gaddafi has been killed’

The new was also welcomed by David Cameron who said he was ‘proud’ of the role Britain had played in protecting Libyan civilians.

Gaddafi is the first leader to be killed in the Arab Spring wave of popular uprisings that swept the Middle East

The revolutionary offensive began around 8am local time and progressed quickly into the town centre.

Gaddafi had been barricaded in with his heavily armed loyalists in the last few buildings they held west of the central Green Square.

Nato airstrikes and revolutionary ground forces concentrated on a compound in that area of the town.

National Transitional Council (NTC) soldiers said that a convoy of at least five vehicles tried to leave the town in the early morning, but it came under sustained fire – first from a Hellfire missile and then from French fighters jets which were part of the Nato force.

The body of former Libyan Leader Muammar Gaddafi lies in an ambulance as it is brought to hospital in Misrata, a bullet hole visible in his temple Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2051361/Gaddafi-dead-Picture-Libya-dictator-captured-killed-Sirte.html#ixzz1bLHjB0cB

Gaddaffi, already injured, was found a short time later in a large storm-water drain, and fighter Mohammed Al Bibi told reporters that the toppled tyrant had pleaded ‘Don’t shoot, don’t shoot’ as he attempted to surrender.

He had been wounded in the legs. NTC official Abdel Majid Mlegta said: ‘He [Gaddafi] was also hit in his head. There was a lot of firing against his group and he died.’

Mobile phone footage, released shortly after the news of his capture broke, appears to show a bloodied Gaddafi being manhandled.

The vehicles were forced to return to the loyalist-controlled area as battle continued.

Al Jazeera was also repeatedly showing footage of what appeared to be Gaddafi’s shirtless and lifeless body being dragged along the ground.

The body was then taken to the nearby city of Misrata, which Gaddafi’s forces besieged for months in one of the bloodiest fronts of the civil war.

Al-Arabiya TV showed footage of Gaddafi’s bloodied body carried on the top of a vehicle surrounded by a large crowd chanting: ‘The blood of the martyrs will not go in vain.’

Rebels said he had been armed with a golden handgun when he was found and was wearing a khaki uniform. Later images showed young revolutionary soldiers sheering an holding a golden handgun.

Other soldiers say they slapped the dead Gaddafi’s face with a shoe to expres their disgust and lack of respect.

The reports of Gaddafi’s capture came on the same day that revolutionary forces said that they had taken control of Sirte – the leader’s home town.

Brutal: There had been fierce fighting around the drain before Gaddafi was finally killed. The body of a fighter can be seen in the dust at the centre of the screen

Initial reports from CNN and the National Transitional Council (NTC) said Gaddafi was in custody, while Al Jazeera reported that a ‘big fish’ had been caught but did not provide a name. Al Jazeera later joined Al-Arabiya in saying that Gaddafi had been killed, but did not provide any further information.

Libya’s transitional government forces have taken full control of the city – the last stronghold of Gaddafi loyalists. Gaddafi’s presence there would explain why fighting had been so intense in the past few weeks.

Al Jazeera reported spontaneous celebration in cities like Benghazi and Tripoli, with people cheering and shouting, car horns sounding and small arms fire being heard.

The official also said the head of Gaddafi’s armed forces, Abu Bakr Younus Jabr, was also killed during the capture of the former Libyan leader.

The NTC said Sirte’s fall would be the point at which it would declare Libya liberated. The transitional authorities have said a new government would then be formed within a month, and the current administration would resign.

The U.S. State Department said today it could not confirm that Gaddafi had been captured.

White House officials were not immediately available to comment. The Pentagon also said it could not confirm the reports.

It is understood that Gaddafi’s son Saif has also been captured by rebels.

There were some reports that NATO had bombed a compound shortly before Gaddafi’s reported capture.

Gaddafi’s killing is the most dramatic single development in the Arab Spring revolts that have unseated rulers in Egypt and Tunisia, and threatened the grip on power of the leaders of Syria and Yemen.

His capture followed within minutes of the fall of Sirte, a development that extinguished the last significant resistance by forces loyal to the deposed leader.

The capture of Sirte and the death of Gaddafi means Libya’s ruling NTC should now begin the task of forging a new democratic system which it had said it would get under way after the city, built as a showpiece for Gaddafi’s rule, had fallen.

Gaddafi, wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of ordering the killing of civilians, was toppled by rebel forces on 23 August after 42 years of one-man rule over the oil-producing North African state.

NTC fighters hoisted the red, black and green national flag above a large utilities building in the centre of a newly-captured Sirte neighbourhood and celebratory gunfire broke out among their ecstatic and relieved comrades.

Hundreds of NTC troops had surrounded the Mediterranean coastal town for weeks in a chaotic struggle that killed and wounded scores of the besieging forces and an unknown number of defenders.

NTC fighters said there were a large number of corpses inside the last redoubts of the Gaddafi troops.

A love for uniforms, female bodyguards and brutal repression

In the end Muammar Gaddafi’s end was as violent as his life, gunned down without mercy in the crumbling ruins of his home town.

His love of comic-opera uniforms, exotic female bodyguards and Bedouin tents provided a theatrical backdrop for 42 years of bloody repression that, in the end, could not withstand a determined uprising backed by NATO air power.

Chased out of Tripoli by rebel forces, Gaddafi disappeared – some said into the empty desert spaces in the south of his vast country.

In tandem with his eccentricity, Gaddafi had a charisma which initially at least won him support among many ordinary Libyans. His readiness to take on Western powers and Israel, both with rhetoric and action, earned him a certain cachet with some in other Arab states who felt their own leaders were too supine.

While leaders of neighbouring Arab states folded quickly in the face of popular uprisings, Gaddafi put up a bloody fight, taking on NATO as well as local insurgents who quickly seized half the country.

For most of his 42-year rule, he held a prominent position in the West’s gallery of international rogues, while maintaining tight control at home by eliminating dissidents and refusing to anoint a successor.

Gaddafi effected a successful rapprochement with the West by renouncing his weapons of mass destruction programme in return for an end to sanctions. But he could not avoid the tide of popular revolution sweeping through the Arab world.

In retrospect, his time had come when he turned his guns on protesters and sent his army to cleanse Benghazi, prompting Western powers and NATO to open up a campaign of aerial bombing that allowed rebel forces eventually to oust him.

As his oil-producing North African desert country descended into civil war, Gaddafi’s military responded with the deadly force that he had never been afraid to use, despite the showman image that captivated many abroad.

When the insurgency began in mid-February, protesters were gunned down in their hundreds. As his troops advanced on Benghazi he famously warned rebels there would be ‘no mercy, no pity’ They would be hunted down ‘alley by alley, house by house, room by room’.

Those words may have been his undoing. Days later the United Nations passed a resolution clearing the way for a NATO air campaign that knocked out his air force, tanks and heavy guns.

Raids also targeted his own headquarters in Tripoli. One raid killed his youngest son and three grandchildren. It was not the first time that the West had killed a Gaddafi family member.

In televised addresses in response to the rebellion in the east earlier this year, Gaddafi blamed the unrest on rats and mercenaries and said they were brainwashed by Osama bin Laden and under the influence of hallucinogenic drugs used to spike their coffee.

As the weeks passed, there was repeated speculation that Gaddafi has either been killed or wounded in NATO air raids, but he made carefully choreographed television appearances in response to the rumours.

In May, Gaddafi taunted NATO, saying its bombers could not find him, saying: ‘I am telling the coward crusaders that I am at a place you cannot reach and kill me.’

One of the world’s longest serving national leaders, Gaddafi had no official government function and was known as the ‘Brother Leader and Guide of the Revolution’.

He strove for influence in Africa, showering his poorer neighbours with the largesse that Libya’s vast oil wealth allowed and styling himself the continent’s “King of Kings”.

His love of grand gestures was on display on foreign visits when he slept in a Bedouin tent guarded by dozens of female bodyguards.

U.S. diplomatic cables released by the WikiLeaks website shed further light on the Libyan leader’s tastes.

One cable posted by The New York Times describes Gaddafi’s insistence on staying on the ground floor when he visited New York for a 2009 meeting at the United Nations and his reported refusal or inability to climb more than 35 steps.

Gaddafi was also said to rely heavily on his staff of four Ukrainian nurses, including one woman described as a ‘voluptuous blonde’. The cable speculated about a romantic relationship but the nurse, Galyna Kolonytska, 38, fled Libya after the fighting started.

THE RISE OF A TYRANT

Gaddafi was born in 1942, the son of a Bedouin herdsman, in a tent near Sirte on the Mediterranean coast. He abandoned a geography course at university for a military career that included a short spell at a British army signals school.

He took power in a bloodless military coup in 1969 when he toppled King Idriss, and in the 1970s he formulated his ‘Third Universal Theory’, a middle road between communism and capitalism, as laid out in his Green Book.

He oversaw the rapid development of Libya, which was previously known for little more than oil wells and deserts where huge tank battles took place in World War Two. The economy is now paying the price of war and sanctions.

One of his first tasks on taking power was to build up the armed forces, but he also spent billions of dollars of oil income on improving living standards, making him popular with the low-paid.

Gaddafi poured money into giant projects such as a steel plant in the town of Misrata – the scene of bitter fighting – and the Great Man-Made River, a scheme to pipe water from desert wells to coastal communities.

Gaddafi embraced the pan-Arabism of the late Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser and tried without success to merge Libya, Egypt and Syria into a federation. A similar attempt to join Libya and Tunisia ended in acrimony.

In 1977 he changed the country’s name to the Great Socialist Popular Libyan Arab Jamahiriyah (State of the Masses).

For much of his rule he was shunned by the West, which accused him of links to terrorism and revolutionary movements. He was particularly reviled after the 1988 Pan Am airliner bombing over Lockerbie, by Libyan agents in which 270 people were killed.

Top picture: A fighter points to the concrete pipe where Gaddafi was reportedly found. Arabic graffiti in blue reads: ‘This is the place of Gaddafi, the rat. God is the greatest’

dailymail.co.uk

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Comments

68 responses to “Gaddafi cornered in a concrete pipe begging for his life”

  1. andre2011 Avatar

    Tell BACHAR .God is the greatest. Today was Kadafi’s Day. Bachar’s  day is Tomorrow.

  2.  Avatar

    Tell BACHAR .God is the greatest. Today was Kadafi’s Day. Bachar’s  day is Tomorrow.

  3. 5thDrawer Avatar

    Jamahiriyah just took control. Hope they can keep their eye on the ball …

  4.  Avatar

    Jamahiriyah just took control. Hope they can keep their eye on the ball …

  5. Dear Bashar Assad: Guess who is next???? Yep!!! YOU!!!!!

    1. 5thDrawer Avatar

      Wonder if they used the ‘golden gun’ to put a hole in his head …

  6. Dear Bashar Assad: Guess who is next???? Yep!!! YOU!!!!!

    1.  Avatar

      Wonder if they used the ‘golden gun’ to put a hole in his head …

  7. Dear Bashar Assad: Guess who is next???? Yep!!! YOU!!!!!

  8. antar2011 Avatar

    the fall of man.
    greed and thirst for power lead mankind to utter humiliation in life, a dishonourable death and very harsh punishment in the hereafter. is power worth that much? at the end of the day we leave everything behind and pass away…

    the picture of his body does not only mean end of a tyrant but it means that justice has prevailed.

    i hope Bashar is seeing Muammar’s body well. i hope he is next together with the fate of Berri, Nasrushaytan and Khamenei.

  9.  Avatar

    the fall of man.
    greed and thirst for power lead mankind to utter humiliation in life, a dishonourable death and very harsh punishment in the hereafter. is power worth that much? at the end of the day we leave everything behind and pass away…

    the picture of his body does not only mean end of a tyrant but it means that justice has prevailed.

    i hope Bashar is seeing Muammar’s body well. i hope he is next together with the fate of Berri, Nasrushaytan and Khamenei.

  10. From Hitler to Saddam all end up in Rats holes, well give him credit not to run away, Maybe all remaining rats in the middle est should learn a lesson and understand that no one is immune to the anger of the people when they demand justice. Nasrallah too should watch it as people are really getting fed up with him dictating the future of the country, and once Assad is done or Najjad , his turn will come no matter what holes he’s hiding in

  11. From Hitler to Saddam all end up in Rats holes, well give him credit not to run away, Maybe all remaining rats in the middle est should learn a lesson and understand that no one is immune to the anger of the people when they demand justice. Nasrallah too should watch it as people are really getting fed up with him dictating the future of the country, and once Assad is done or Najjad , his turn will come no matter what holes he’s hiding in

  12. MeYosemite Avatar
    MeYosemite

    Fate… We almost all could see Ghaddafi fate many months before today, and yet he couldn’t see his own. Blood call for blood. There is no escape to it. It is written in so many holy places and those corrupt leaders can’t understand it. Is this a lesson for our corrupt leaders in Lebanon and Syria! They are as blinded as Ghaddafi was, thinking they are son of gods immune to the people, trashing them as they were garbage. For that simple proof and reason people of Syria and Lebanon have to rise. Corruption won’t go away on it’s own by merely walking up the streets!

  13.  Avatar

    Fate… We almost all could see Ghaddafi fate many months before today, and yet he couldn’t see his own. Blood call for blood. There is no escape to it. It is written in so many holy places and those corrupt leaders can’t understand it. Is this a lesson for our corrupt leaders in Lebanon and Syria! They are as blinded as Ghaddafi was, thinking they are son of gods immune to the people, trashing them as they were garbage. For that simple proof and reason people of Syria and Lebanon have to rise. Corruption won’t go away on it’s own by merely walking up the streets!

  14.  Avatar

    Fate… We almost all could see Ghaddafi fate many months before today, and yet he couldn’t see his own. Blood call for blood. There is no escape to it. It is written in so many holy places and those corrupt leaders can’t understand it. Is this a lesson for our corrupt leaders in Lebanon and Syria! They are as blinded as Ghaddafi was, thinking they are son of gods immune to the people, trashing them as they were garbage. For that simple proof and reason people of Syria and Lebanon have to rise. Corruption won’t go away on it’s own by merely walking up the streets!

  15.  Avatar

    Fate… We almost all could see Ghaddafi fate many months before today, and yet he couldn’t see his own. Blood call for blood. There is no escape to it. It is written in so many holy places and those corrupt leaders can’t understand it. Is this a lesson for our corrupt leaders in Lebanon and Syria! They are as blinded as Ghaddafi was, thinking they are son of gods immune to the people, trashing them as they were garbage. For that simple proof and reason people of Syria and Lebanon have to rise. Corruption won’t go away on it’s own by merely walking up the streets!

  16.  Avatar

    Fate… We almost all could see Ghaddafi fate many months before today, and yet he couldn’t see his own. Blood call for blood. There is no escape to it. It is written in so many holy places and those corrupt leaders can’t understand it. Is this a lesson for our corrupt leaders in Lebanon and Syria! They are as blinded as Ghaddafi was, thinking they are son of gods immune to the people, trashing them as they were garbage. For that simple proof and reason people of Syria and Lebanon have to rise. Corruption won’t go away on it’s own by merely walking up the streets!

  17.  Avatar

    Fate… We almost all could see Ghaddafi fate many months before today, and yet he couldn’t see his own. Blood call for blood. There is no escape to it. It is written in so many holy places and those corrupt leaders can’t understand it. Is this a lesson for our corrupt leaders in Lebanon and Syria! They are as blinded as Ghaddafi was, thinking they are son of gods immune to the people, trashing them as they were garbage. For that simple proof and reason people of Syria and Lebanon have to rise. Corruption won’t go away on it’s own by merely walking up the streets!

  18. Sebouh80 Avatar

    The killing of Gaddafi is the culmination of a criminal war that killed untold numbers of Libyans and left most of the country in ruins. This operation was launched on the pretext of protecting civilian lives, based on the trumped up claim that Gaddafi was preparing to lay siege to the eastern city of Benghazi to massacre his opponents. It has ended with NATO orchestrating a siege of Sirte, where thousands have been killed and wounded in suppressing opposition to the “rebels”.

    From the beginning, the entire operation has been directed at the re-colonization of North Africa and pursued on behalf of US, British, French, Italian and Dutch oil interests.

    While over the past decade Gaddafi had curried favor with US, Britain, France and other Western powers, striking oil deals, arms agreements and other pacts, US imperialism and its counterparts in Europe continued to see his regime as an impediment to their aims in the region.

    Among the principal concerns in Washington, London and Paris were the increasing Chinese and Russian economic interests in Libya and more generally Africa as a whole. China had developed $6.6 billion in bilateral trade, mainly in oil, while some 30,000 Chinese workers were employed in a wide range of infrastructure projects. Russia, meanwhile, had developed extensive oil deals, billions of dollars in arms sales and a $3 billion project to link Sirte and Benghazi by rail. There were also discussions on providing the Russian navy with a Mediterranean port near Benghazi.

    Gaddafi had provoked the ire of the government of Nicolas Sarkozy in France with his hostility to its scheme for creating a Mediterranean Union, aimed at refurbishing French influence in the country’s former colonies and beyond.

    Moreover, major US and Western European energy conglomerates increasingly chafed at what they saw as tough contract terms demanded by the Gaddafi government, as well as the threat that the Russian oil company Gazprom would be given a big stake in the exploitation of the country’s reserves.

    Combined with these economic and geo-strategic motives were political factors. The turn by Gaddafi toward closer relations to the West had allowed Washington and Paris to cultivate elements within his regime who were prepared to collaborate in an imperialist takeover of the country. This includes figures like Mustafa Abdul Jalil, Gaddafi’s former Justice Minister and now chairman of the NATO-backed NTC and Mahmoud Jibril, the former economics official who is chief of the NTC cabinet.

    With the popular upheavals in Tunisia and Egypt—on Libya’s western and eastern borders—the US and its NATO allies saw an opportunity to put into operation a plan that had been developed over some time for regime change in Libya. With agents on the ground, they moved to exploit and hijack anti-Gaddafi demonstrations and foment an armed conflict.
    To prepare for a direct imperialist takeover, they followed a well-worn path, vilifying the country’s leader and promoting the idea that only outside intervention could save innocent civilians from a looming massacre.
    Their attempt to portray the regime change in Libya as a popular revolution becomes more preposterous with each passing day. The unstable puppet regime that is taking shape in Benghazi and Tripoli has been installed through relentless and massive NATO bombing, murder and the wholesale violation of international law.

    Libya stands as a warning to the world. Any regime that gets in the way of US interests, runs afoul of the major corporations or fails to do the bidding of the NATO powers can be overthrown by military force, with its leaders murdered.

    1. 5thDrawer Avatar

      So … you are saying it would have been better to allow the place to stay in the dark under the Daffy.
      Ask some Libyans how they feel about your theories.
      First, you cannot say any bombing by NATO was ‘relentless’. Ask Libyans how selective it was, and thus how few were actually killed by NATO bombs. I don’t think anyone has seen ‘relentless’ since WWII.
      If the Daffy had truly wished for the best for his people, and they wanted his rule to end, he could easily have retired into the dessert back in January – or gone to live with Chavez – with more than enough money to sustain 25 families for life – and NATO would not have been ‘asked’ by ‘the unarmed people’ to help them when the Daffy decided to eliminate dissent on a larger scale than ever.
      Libya was all Qadaffi and ONLY Qadaffi. The country was his personal chess-board and he played both sides. He kept that control by killing people every day – hanging some from lamp-posts – just to remind people who was in charge. If he accomplished some major ‘modern’ upgrades of modern living for the country, it was only for his own aggrandisment to show the ‘world’ how wonderful he was. He failed to pull other regimes into his alliance – basically because they saw how crazy he was as soon as they tried to deal with him.
      Ask the Libyans now rejoicing – with only their ‘feet on the ground’ – how they feel today.

      1. Sebouh80 Avatar

        5thdrawer,

        Let me clarify my point. I was raised with strong Christian values with strong emphasis on forgiveness and compassion. Unfortunately these two words today cannot be found in the Middle East and especially in Libya which the mentality overthere is more revenge oriented and this is contrary to my beliefs.  Let me make my case clear even if I hate a leader I would never do what the people of Libya have done. It is absolutely barbaric and uncivilized. I hope I made my case clear.
         

        1. 5thDrawer Avatar

          You may remember it was not so many years ago that Britain – probably in a moment of stupidity – released the ‘dying’ bomber who is still alive so he could go to see family one last time; and then also ‘FORGAVE’ Gadaffi for almost everything over 30 years because he ‘promised’ to be a good boy on the world stage again.
          How many times do you wish to ‘turn the other cheek’ especially when the basic result is the death of thousands?

    2. 7akibalash Avatar
      7akibalash

      it is alwatys the same story with you brainwashed donkeys: “From the beginning, the entire operation has been directed at the re-colonization of North Africa and pursued on behalf of US, British, French, Italian and Dutch oil interests.”   <<< blaming the west even when they take a tyrant off your backs…. brilliant strategy!!!
      US troops will be leaving iraq before christmas <<< this doesnt jive with your propoganda either… but I am sure that you will change your story a bit and make up some more conspiracy theories to justify your brainwashed donkeyness!!!
      oh, and it was Bush who made the agreement to leave at the end of this year…. oh man, I can see your wheels spinning now!!!

      1. Sebouh80 Avatar

        People like you are unworthy to comment back.

        1. 7akibalash Avatar
          7akibalash

          hahahahah you’re a funny brainwashed donkey even.
          you got cornered and now you cant think of a response loool
          so much for your theories then!!!

  19.  Avatar

    The killing of Gaddafi is the culmination of a criminal war that killed untold numbers of Libyans and left most of the country in ruins. This operation was launched on the pretext of protecting civilian lives, based on the trumped up claim that Gaddafi was preparing to lay siege to the eastern city of Benghazi to massacre his opponents. It has ended with NATO orchestrating a siege of Sirte, where thousands have been killed and wounded in suppressing opposition to the “rebels”.

    From the beginning, the entire operation has been directed at the re-colonization of North Africa and pursued on behalf of US, British, French, Italian and Dutch oil interests.

    While over the past decade Gaddafi had curried favor with US, Britain, France and other Western powers, striking oil deals, arms agreements and other pacts, US imperialism and its counterparts in Europe continued to see his regime as an impediment to their aims in the region.

    Among the principal concerns in Washington, London and Paris were the increasing Chinese and Russian economic interests in Libya and more generally Africa as a whole. China had developed $6.6 billion in bilateral trade, mainly in oil, while some 30,000 Chinese workers were employed in a wide range of infrastructure projects. Russia, meanwhile, had developed extensive oil deals, billions of dollars in arms sales and a $3 billion project to link Sirte and Benghazi by rail. There were also discussions on providing the Russian navy with a Mediterranean port near Benghazi.

    Gaddafi had provoked the ire of the government of Nicolas Sarkozy in France with his hostility to its scheme for creating a Mediterranean Union, aimed at refurbishing French influence in the country’s former colonies and beyond.

    Moreover, major US and Western European energy conglomerates increasingly chafed at what they saw as tough contract terms demanded by the Gaddafi government, as well as the threat that the Russian oil company Gazprom would be given a big stake in the exploitation of the country’s reserves.

    Combined with these economic and geo-strategic motives were political factors. The turn by Gaddafi toward closer relations to the West had allowed Washington and Paris to cultivate elements within his regime who were prepared to collaborate in an imperialist takeover of the country. This includes figures like Mustafa Abdul Jalil, Gaddafi’s former Justice Minister and now chairman of the NATO-backed NTC and Mahmoud Jibril, the former economics official who is chief of the NTC cabinet.

    With the popular upheavals in Tunisia and Egypt—on Libya’s western and eastern borders—the US and its NATO allies saw an opportunity to put into operation a plan that had been developed over some time for regime change in Libya. With agents on the ground, they moved to exploit and hijack anti-Gaddafi demonstrations and foment an armed conflict.
    To prepare for a direct imperialist takeover, they followed a well-worn path, vilifying the country’s leader and promoting the idea that only outside intervention could save innocent civilians from a looming massacre.
    Their attempt to portray the regime change in Libya as a popular revolution becomes more preposterous with each passing day. The unstable puppet regime that is taking shape in Benghazi and Tripoli has been installed through relentless and massive NATO bombing, murder and the wholesale violation of international law.

    Libya stands as a warning to the world. Any regime that gets in the way of US interests, runs afoul of the major corporations or fails to do the bidding of the NATO powers can be overthrown by military force, with its leaders murdered.

    1.  Avatar

      So … you are saying it would have been better to allow the place to stay in the dark under the Daffy.
      Ask some Libyans how they feel about your theories.

      1.  Avatar

        5thdrawer,

        Let me clarify my point. I was raised with strong Christian values with strong emphasis on forgiveness and compassion. Unfortunately these two words today cannot be found in the Middle East and especially in Libya which the mentality overthere is more revenge oriented and this is contrary to my beliefs.  Let me make my case clear even if I hate a leader I would never do what the people of Libya have done. It is absolutely barbaric and uncivilized. I hope I made my case clear.
         

        1.  Avatar

          You may remember it was not so many years ago that Britain – probably in a moment of stupidity – released the ‘dying’ bomber who is still alive so he could go to see family one last time; and then also ‘FORGAVE’ Gadaffi for almost everything over 30 years because he ‘promised’ to be a good boy on the world stage again.
          How many times do you wish to ‘turn the other cheek’ especially when the basic result is the death of thousands?

        2.  Avatar

          You may remember it was not so many years ago that Britain – probably in a moment of stupidity – released the ‘dying’ bomber who is still alive so he could go to see family one last time; and then also ‘FORGAVE’ Gadaffi for almost everything over 30 years because he ‘promised’ to be a good boy on the world stage again.
          How many times do you wish to ‘turn the other cheek’ especially when the basic result is the death of thousands?

    2.  Avatar

      it is alwatys the same story with you brainwashed donkeys: “From the beginning, the entire operation has been directed at the re-colonization of North Africa and pursued on behalf of US, British, French, Italian and Dutch oil interests.”   <<< blaming the west even when they take a tyrant off your backs…. brilliant strategy!!!
      US troops will be leaving iraq before christmas <<< this doesnt jive with your propoganda either… but I am sure that you will change your story a bit and make up some more conspiracy theories to justify your brainwashed donkeyness!!!
      oh, and it was Bush who made the agreement to leave at the end of this year…. oh man, I can see your wheels spinning now!!!

      1.  Avatar

        People like you are unworthy to comment back.

        1.  Avatar

          hahahahah you’re a funny brainwashed donkey even.
          you got cornered and now you cant think of a response loool
          so much for your theories then!!!

  20. Sebouh80 Avatar

    Shame on all of you guys. Besides even if Qaddafi was a tyrant and criminal the man was still entitled for a fair trial not a brutal killing by a mob of NTC thugs.
    What we saw yesterday exposed the savagery of these so called Nato rebels.  A civilized world operates through courts not through mob killings and revenge. I’m totaly disgusted.

    1. 5thDrawer Avatar

      Sebough … While I understand where you are coming from with the ‘forgiveness’ bit (below), I think it was basically his choice. Even 2 weeks ago he could have arranged a truce, to give himself up, and not to continue the killing on both sides. He would have been in prison now costing the Libyans money and more angst for his time in court. It was not his ‘way’.
      Yet even when any sane person could see it was a lost cause he decided to do the ‘valiant fight’ thing … costing only more lives … and then in the heat of a battle, he attempted to sneak out the back door. That didn’t work, the hiding-spot didn’t work, and finally he was confronted by fighters who have the adrenelin up and are still being shot at. There was one voice in the crowd calling for what you would have wished: “Don’t kill him.” I am sure there were many who might have thought of it. But there was one who had had enough – perhaps years and a lot of history – who had no intention of hearing another word from the despot. And in the end, no-one who would argue.
      War is Hell. The one who caused it is gone. No shame in that.

      1. Sebouh80 Avatar

        5thDrawer,

        Libya is a tribal mentality and the people  are very far from the “rule of law”. Anyway the killing confirms one thing that we have replaced one bourgeois despotic regime with another and this is a tragedy. Finally, the events of yesterday left me totally disgusted for the state of moral bankruptcy that we have reached.

        1. 5thDrawer Avatar

          Geezzz … one day, and they are already labelled with ‘bourgeois ‘ ?? (Belonging to the Middle-class.)
          You could give them a day or two to have a shower, shave, and sleep. Umm .. maybe a little time to think about the results?

    2. prophettt Avatar

      Sebou,Although I promised myself not to comment on news stories at this site with my new ID(having been banned because I’m considered spamLOL), Your comment  just tempted me to say few words; I agree with you hundred percent,and If I may add this: As much as I despised Qadafi,and everything  He and his regime stood for, executing him after his capture does not promise much for the future of Libya. A revolution,which I supported from day one, can not promise democracy and freedom when it execute an injured person after his capture.Although He deserves death,but at least with due process. His capture, medical treatment,and eventually his  trial,could  have assured all Libyans that the next government will protect its people and their human rights.It would have set an example to Libyans on how civil governments should behave.I know many Libyans who suffered at the hands of Qadafi and his gangs may have reacted with joy when they watched those ugly images ,but they would have been more satisfied to watch Qadafi (had he survived his injuries)behind bars at a trial before he is sentenced to death.

      1. 5thDrawer Avatar

        I agree. But maybe it was a ‘mercy-killing’ … infiltration already by his followers into the crowd. Hmmm. New debate for future … perhaps by those who have also seen enough?

      2. Sebouh80 Avatar

        Thank you Prophet,

        I might have said this in previous occasion that you are the only wise person in this blog that I respect. Yes you are absolutely right the message that they gave with this brutal killing does not promise a bright future for the people of Libya. As I said we are simply replacing one bourgeois despotic regime with another and this is a tragedy. Prophet, an example that comes to mind is the aftermath of the Iranian revolution and mass killings of generals and politicians of Shah era by Khomeini people.

        1. prophettt Avatar

          Thank you Sebou, I have lots of respect for you as well.Your Iran example is a perfect one.
          I feel the need to warn you though,that wisdom might get you spammed and banned.
           I have noticed that many of the reasonable and intelligent  voices ,of whom I exchanged views for a long time, have either left this blog,or were forced to do so, either through harassment or banning.What a shame.I hope I’m wrong .

    3. 7akibalash Avatar
      7akibalash

      the fact that you think that libya(as it stands) is a civilized nation shows your stupidity.. if this happened in a civilized nation then I would agree with you, but this happened in a barbaric cultured desert, most muslim countries are like that, they have managed to turn lebanon into one of those barbaric nations as well… no need to deny the facts as they are!!!

    4. sebouh, i have to admit that i struggled with the graphic images of ghaddafis demise  and deep inside i found it very uncomfortable.
       i am sure if one of my family was a victim of his brutality i may not  be able to restrain my self from making a salt shaker out of him. 
        an opportunity was lost to set a new standard of human rights and  due process but   perhaps  it is unreasonable for us to expect any other outcome with all the emotions the libyans feel and the victims like Iman al-Obeidi raped by a dozen soldiers not long ago .
      only time will tell what becomes of the new libya. either way i chose to  hate violance of any kind and i dont want to condition myself to consuming it for entertainment or revenge.

  21.  Avatar

    Shame on all of you guys. Besides even if Qaddafi was a tyrant and criminal the man was still entitled for a fair trial not a brutal killing by a mob of NTC thugs.
    What we saw yesterday exposed the savagery of these so called Nato rebels.  A civilized world operates through courts not through mob killings and revenge. I’m totaly disgusted.

    1.  Avatar

      Sebough … While I understand where you are coming from with the ‘forgiveness’ bit (below), I think it was basically his choice. Even 2 weeks ago he could have arranged a truce, to give himself up, and not to continue the killing on both sides. He would have been in prison now costing the Libyans money and more angst for his time in court. It was not his ‘way’.
      Yet even when any sane person could see it was lost cause he decided to do the ‘valiant fight’ thing … costing only more lives … and then in the heat of a battle, he attempted to sneak out the back door. That didn’t work, the hiding-spot didn’t work, and finally he was confronted by fighters who have the adrenelin up and are still being shot at. There was one voice in the crowd calling for what you would have wished: “Don’t kill him.” I am sure there were many who might have thought of it. But there was one who had had enough – perhaps years and a lot of history – who had no intention of hearing another word from the despot. And in the end, no-one who would argue.
      War is Hell. The one who caused it is gone. No shame in that.

      1.  Avatar

        5thDrawer,

        Libya is a tribal mentality and the people  are very far from the “rule of law”. Anyway the killing confirms one thing that we have replaced one bourgeois despotic regime with another and this is a tragedy. Finally, the events of yesterday left me totally disgusted for the state of moral bankruptcy that we have reached.

        1.  Avatar

          Geezzz … one day, and they are already labelled with ‘bourgeois ‘ ?? (Belonging to the Middle-class.)
          You could give them a day or two to have a shower, shave, and sleep. Umm .. maybe a little time to think about the results?

      2.  Avatar

        5thDrawer,

        Libya is a tribal mentality and the people  are very far from the “rule of law”. Anyway the killing confirms one thing that we have replaced one bourgeois despotic regime with another and this is a tragedy. Finally, the events of yesterday left me totally disgusted for the state of moral bankruptcy that we have reached.

    2.  Avatar

      Sebou,Although I promised myself not to comment on news stories at this site with my new ID(having been banned because I’m considered spamLOL), Your comment  just tempted me to say few words; I agree with you hundred percent,and If I may add this: As much as I despised Qadafi,and everything  He and his regime stood for, executing him after his capture does not promise much for the future of Libya. A revolution,which I supported from day one, can not promise democracy and freedom when it execute an injured person after his capture.Although He deserves death,but at least with due process. His capture,and medical treatment,and eventually his  trial,could  have assured all Libyans that the next government will protect its people and their rights.It would have set an example to Libyans on how civil governments should behave.I know many Libyans who suffered at the hands of Qadafi and his gangs may have reacted with joy when they watched those ugly images ,but they would have been more satisfied to watch Qadafi (had he survived his injuries)behind bars at a trial before he is sentenced to death.

      1.  Avatar

        I agree. But maybe it was a ‘mercy-killing’ … infiltration already by his followers into the crowd. Hmmm. New debate for future … 

      2.  Avatar

        Thank you Prophet,

        I might have said this in previous occasion that you are the only wise person in this blog that I respect. Yes you are absolutely right the message that they gave with this brutal killing does not promise a bright future for the people of Libya. As I said we are simply replacing one bourgeois despotic regime with another and this is a tragedy. Prophet, an example that comes to mind is the aftermath of the Iranian revolution and mass killings of generals and politicians of Shah era by Khomeini people.

        1.  Avatar

          Thank you Sebou, I have lots of respect for you as well.Your Iran example is a perfect one.
          I feel the need to warn you though,that wisdom might get you spammed and banned.
           I have noticed that many of the reasonable and intelligent  voices ,of whom I exchanged views for a long time, have either left this blog,or were forced to do so, either through harassment or banning.What a shame.I hope I’m wrong .

    3.  Avatar

      the fact that you think that libya(as it stands) is a civilized nation shows your stupidity.. if this happened in a civilized nation then I would agree with you, but this happened in a barbaric cultured desert, most muslim countries are like that, they have managed to turn lebanon into one of those barbaric nations as well… no need to deny the facts as they are!!!

    4. sebouh, i have to admit that i struggled with the graphic images of ghaddafis demise  and deep inside i found it very uncomfortable.
       i am sure if one of my family was a victim of his brutality i may not  be able to restrain my self from making a salt shaker out of him. 
        an opportunity was lost to set a new standard of human rights and  due process but   perhaps  it is unreasonable for us to expect any other outcome with all the emotions the libyans feel and the victims like Iman al-Obeidi raped by a dozen soldiers not long ago .
      only time will tell what becomes of the new libya. either way i chose to  hate violance of any kind and i dont want to condition myself to consuming it for entertainment or revenge.

  22. prophettt Avatar

    Sebou, Just wanted to elaborate further on our exhange regarding the excution of Qadafi;Reports are coming out indicating that Qadafi was not even injured before He was captured.It seems that,once cornered,He gave himself up.Also, conflicting stories are coming out about the circumstances  surrounding his son’s death,all agree on one thing,that He was captured alive(maybe injured),and then executed by his captures.
    According to NY Times;”One video in particular was receiving heightened scrutiny on Friday because it showed a conscious Colonel Qaddafi wiping blood off the left side of his face, revealing no bullet wound. Later videos of his corpse showed a bullet wound in the same spot, adding to skepticism about the interim government’s official explanation that he was accidentally killed during a shootout with Qaddafi loyalists.”.I have no doubts that you viewed this video.He was walking,moving his arms,and he showed no sign of serious injuries.
    If this turns out to be accurate, it becomes more disturbing and discouraging then ever.The new/old  military leaders in libya do not see any need for an inverstigation.They seem to be in charge,not the civilian leadership.If anything it indicate,as you suspected, that Libya  has just replaced a horrible military rule by another. Again, I hope,for the sake of libyans who died fighting Qadafi and those who were murdered and abused by Qadafi,that THIS UGLY beginning is corrected.I have no doubt that most of those who revolted and died ,did so hoping for a better future for Libyans;a future where democracy,freedom,and rule of law ……etc  would prevail. The fact that this war took several month You would think that the new Libyan  leadership  did anticipate a possibility where Qadafi is captured at one point,and a plan should have been drawn to deal with such event.If this was the plan, than everything you and I said  is correct,and if they had no plan,then the future is worse than what you and I feared. 
    This should have been the beginning of the end of era,NOT a restart of same era.I know I sound too idealistic(I’m not by no means),but eight months of war should have been long enough for those leaders to realize that a new beginning  should be stamped by applying civility and human rights,even to a murderer like Qadafi.Revenge and emotions do not build civilian nations, nor would they build democracy.
    Revenge will always draw revenge.As Gibran said “eye for an eye,and the whole world will go blind”

    1. 5thDrawer Avatar

      Yes, we can all see it on BBC Prophet. I still suspect it was one or a few who couldn’t stand to hear anything more from him. Letting him live was not something they wanted to consider. And the people lining up now to see his body are not doing it out of grief … they need that ‘proof’ fixed in their minds to have the feeling of relief apparently now flooding through the country. Whether his death should have been now or later, all agree it was necessary.
      One thing for sure. There is an instant ‘new’ beginning. No going back. And there are smiling faces in Libya – on both men and women. Something ‘new’ for sure. Let’s hope those smiles continue.

      1. prophettt Avatar

        5th, One point you seem to overlook here is that all of those Libyans who were joyful watching the images of Qadafi dead ,would have been more joyful and more satisfied to watch him being sentenced to death at a trial.Those who lived under his oppressive rule for 42 years should have been given a chance to test and taste the the feeling of civility, respect to human integrity, due process,and all the things they dreamed of all these years.
        I can understand the emotions of the Libyans,but not the lack of vision of the new leaders of Libya. Everyone agrees that libyans suffered at this tyranny’s hands,and do deserve to smile and know that their fear of him has gone;but my fear is that this beginning has been tainted badly with uncivilized ,unnecessary,avoidable criminal behavior. My point is that this could have been the greatest opportunity to show Libyans that murder and abuse,and disregard to human rights are gone for ever.They truly missed it,and I hope and pray that   new era of peace , freedom,democracy,and prosperity will start now.
        simply put;No justification,no excuse, no ethics,No spins,and No reason to execute a captured fighter,soldier,or a killer who gave himself up.

        1. 5thDrawer Avatar

          I am not overlooking it Prophet, and as I said before I agree with you … and there were voices in that crowd around him saying not to kill him … but it was a war-scene, and many times in history we have seen emotions in a band of fighters running so high that small atrocities occur. Considering the necessary ‘brotherhood’ feelings between a group of fighters, even those with level heads will not stand in the way of vengeful compatriots in such moments.
          It is always after the battle that analysis takes place … when you are in the thick of it, civilized niceties are rarely considered. What I do not like to see here is the judgements of people who are not there ‘on the ground’ against the general population – which I think we have to agree has not had the time or the education/experience EVER to consider a life without violence. We all agree this was not a professionally trained military. They are people driven to last resorts, after all. What can you expect? They WILL see ‘opinions’ on this I am sure, as the ‘high-and-mighty’ weigh in. Try to walk a mile in their shoes first.
          Perhaps we can hope that ‘bad taint’ will be seen eventually as a possibly-sorry moment in their history. Every country on earth has those moments. Some of us have evolved somewhat under ‘law’ … many individuals have not. Rough Justice has always been rough to watch. The question is, can they learn from it?
           Watching half-buried women being stoned to death for doing nothing, compared to what Qadaffi inflicted on humans, is not nice to watch either. Watching snipers fire on funeral processions is MUCH more disgusting than a battlefield execution. Blowing up a street full of people to ‘execute’ one politician is more of an atrocity.
          Where is the ‘PERSPECTIVE’ ?????

          Sorry Sebouh … that’s my bottom line on that one.

        2. I think many governments and organisations did not want him to reveal the dirt he had on them. He was intentionally killed, I bet the CIA did not want him to spill the beans. No conspiracy here, just a thought. I’m glad he is done. They might accuse HA ….:)

        3. MeYosemite Avatar
          MeYosemite

          Sometimes in the kind of – business/politics/way of running things – ghaddafi and the like subscribe automatically to the risk of being shot at point blank. Many believe justice is often a joke, politicized, many do not want to gamble on it. Just think how the justice in Lebanon is mocked. Think for all the victims of Lebanon now without justice…. we are observing now how the Lebanese government itself is mocking the STL, the justice system itself. The aggressors now drive fancy cars freely, we know who they are, but can’t do much about it now. Our chance for point blank shot is over, we just blow steam now. Gaddafi with $200 Billions in his bank, would have had the possibility to buy/blackmail his freedom and innocence more than once.

  23.  Avatar

    Sebou, Just wanted to elaborate further on our exhange regarding the excution of Qadafi;Reports are coming out indicating that Qadafi was not even injured before He was captured.It seems that,once cornered,He gave himself up.Also, conflicting stories are coming out about the circumstances  surrounding his son’s death,all agree on one thing,that He was captured alive(maybe injured),and then executed by his captures.
    According to NY Times;”One video in particular was receiving heightened scrutiny on Friday because it showed a conscious Colonel Qaddafi wiping blood off the left side of his face, revealing no bullet wound. Later videos of his corpse showed a bullet wound in the same spot, adding to skepticism about the interim government’s official explanation that he was accidentally killed during a shootout with Qaddafi loyalists.”.I have no doubts that you viewed this video.He was walking,moving his arms,and he showed no sign of serious injuries.
    If this turns out to be accurate, it becomes more disturbing and discouraging then ever.The new/old  military leaders in libya do not see any need for an inverstigation.They seem to be in charge,not the civilian leadership.If anything it indicate,as you indicated, that Libya  has just replaced a horrible military rule by another. Again, I hope,for the sake of libyans who died fighting Qadafi and those who were murdered and abused by Qadafi,that THIS UGLY beginning is corrected.I have no doubt that most of those who revolted and died ,did so hoping for a better future for Libyans;a future where democracy,freedom,and rule of law ……etc  would prevail. The fact that this war took several month You would think that the new Libyan  leadership  did anticipate a possibility where Qadafi is captured at one point,and a plan should have been drawn to deal with such event.If this was the plan, than everything you and I said  is correct,and if they had no plan,then the future is worse than what you and I feared. 
    This should have been the beginning of the end of era,NOT a restart of same era.I know I sound too idealistic(I’m not by no means),but eight months of war should have been long enough for those leaders to realize that a new beginning  should be stamped by applying civility and human rights,even to a murderer like Qadafi.Revenge and emotions do not build civilian nations, nor would they build democracy.
    Revenge will always draw revenge.As Gibran said “eye for an eye,and the whole world will go blind”

    1.  Avatar

      Yes, we can all see it on BBC Prophet. I still suspect it was one or a few who couldn’t stand to hear anything more from him. Letting him live was not something they wanted to consider. And the people lining up now to see his body are not doing it out of grief … they need that ‘proof’ fixed in their minds to have the feeling of relief apparently now flooding through the country. Whether his death should have been now or later, all agree it was necessary.
      One thing for sure. There is an instant ‘new’ beginning. No going back. And there are smiling faces in Libya – on both men and women. Something ‘new’ for sure. Let’s hope those smiles continue.

    2.  Avatar

      Yes, we can all see it on BBC Prophet. I still suspect it was one or a few who couldn’t stand to hear anything more from him. Letting him live was not something they wanted to consider. And the people lining up now to see his body are not doing it out of grief … they need that ‘proof’ fixed in their minds to have the feeling of relief apparently now flooding through the country. Whether his death should have been now or later, all agree it was necessary.
      One thing for sure. There is an instant ‘new’ beginning. No going back. And there are smiling faces in Libya – on both men and women. Something ‘new’ for sure. Let’s hope those smiles continue.

      1.  Avatar

        5th, One point you seem to overlook here is that all of those Libyans who were joyful watching the images of Qadafi dead ,would have been more joyful and more satisfied to watch him being sentenced to death at a trial.Those who lived under his oppressive rule for 42 years should have been given a chance to test and taste the the feeling of civility, respect to human integrity, due process,and all the things they dreamed of all these years.
        I can understand the emotions of the Libyans,but not the lack of vision of the new leaders of Libya. Everyone agrees that libyans suffered at this tyranny’s hands,and do deserve to smile and know that their fear of him has gone;but my fear is that this beginning has been tainted badly with uncivilized behavior. My point is that this could have been the greatest opportunity to show Libyans that murder and abuse,and disregard to human rights are gone for ever.They truly missed it,and I hope and pray that   new era of peace , freedom,democracy,and prosperity will start now.

        1.  Avatar

          I am not overlooking it Prophet, and as I said before I agree with you … and there were voices in that crowd around him saying not to kill him … but it was a war-scene, and many times in history we have seen emotions in a band of fighters running so high that small atrocities occur. Considering the necessary ‘brotherhood’ feelings between a group of fighters, even those with level heads will not stand in the way of vengeful compatriots in such moments.
          It is always after the battle that analysis takes place … when you are in the thick of it, civilized niceties are rarely considered. What I do not like to see here is the judgements of people who are not there ‘on the ground’ against the general population – which I think we have to agree has not had the time or the education/experience EVER to consider a life without violence. We all agree this was not a professionally trained military. They are people driven to last resorts, after all. What can you expect? They WILL see ‘opinions’ on this I am sure, as the ‘high-and-mighty’ weigh in. Try to walk a mile in their shoes first.
          Perhaps we can hope that ‘bad taint’ will be seen eventually as a possibly-sorry moment in their history. Every country on earth has those moments. Some of us have evolved somewhat under ‘law’ … many individuals have not. Rough Justice has always been rough to watch. The question is, can they learn from it?
           Watching half-buried women being stoned to death for doing nothing compared to what Qadaffi inflicted on humans is not nice to watch either. Watching snipers fire on funeral processions is MUCH more disgusting than a battlefield execution. Blowing up a street full of people to ‘execute’ one politician is more of an atrocity.
          Where is the ‘perspective’ ?????

        2.  Avatar

          I think many governments and organisations did not want him to reveal the dirt he had on them. He was intentionally killed, I bet the CIA did not want him to spill the beans. No conspiracy here, just a thought. I’m glad he is done. 

        3.  Avatar

          Sometimes in the kind of – business/politics/way of running things – ghaddafi and the like subscribe automatically to the risk of being shot at point blank. Many believe justice is often a joke, politicized, many do not want to gamble on it. Just think how the justice in Lebanon is mocked. Think for all the victims of Lebanon now without justice…. we are observing now how the Lebanese government itself is mocking the STL, the justice system itself. The aggressors now drive fancy cars freely, we know who they are, but can’t do much about it now. Our chance for point blank shot is over, we just blow steam now. Gaddafi with $200 Billions in his bank, would have had the possibility to buy/blackmail his freedom and innocence more than once.

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