Gaddafi dead

Kenjaja1

Frank the tank wrote:

Was Gadaffi and his regime not viewed by most as a dangerous oppressive regime, hence the OK for the NATO bombing campaign to reduce civillian casualties (and assist the rebels)?

So when the rebels win and Gaddafi gets no more than he deserves, why is there a need for a trial. Assuming of course the point would have been to try Gaddafi and not the people he had done deals with.

I viewed the scenes on Sunday and seriously would any fair minded person have denied those Libyans their moment of utter joy at feeling "free" for the first time in their lives. Partially due to the fact that the spectre of Gaddafi had been lifted for ever due to him being dead, rather than banged up in the Hague (or wherever) giving his supporters something to cling onto and carry on rocking the boat about.

Gadaffi was viewed in exactly the way you say by the vast majority of people. However he said, in effect, that he was going to be a good boy now and we needed oil. No one in their right mind would have believed him - but we are talking about Western Politicians. They were not stupid enough to believe him but they were sufficiently amoral to do business with him.

The noises of those who wanted a trial are basically people who want the new Libyan order to demonstrate they are different from Gadaffi's regime. Those who did deals with Gadaffi will probably never be charged with any criminal offence. due to the problems cost and complexity of mounting a case. It is also likely that what they may not have broken English criminal law.

I find myself being ambivalent on the way Gadaffi was disposed of. Essentially he was lynched and the strong suspicion is that he was executed when there were no cameras to record the event. I found the scenes ugly - like a pack of dogs which has caught an animal they have been hunting. On the other hand the reaction of his Libyan captors is understandable. The personal issue which bothers me most is thinking what I would have done if I had found myself in their position. It is impossible to know for sure as I was not persecuted or tortured by him. neither was anyone in my family or any friends or anyone I know. If, on the other hand I was Libyan and had been locked up/tortured or who had close links to victims of the regime what would I have done? I can't escape the feeling that I might just have been happy to pull the trigger.

Any criticism which some may aim at the NTC will be short-lived and soon forgotten for the same reason our political masters wanted to deal with Gadaffi. i.e. Oil. There was no way he was ever going to end up at facing justice outside of Libya. The new regime had first claim on any judicial process and he would, for sure, have gone the same route as Sadam. He would have had a fairly quick trial for a few offences, he would have been found guilty and executed. The end result for Libya is that the people there can now move on. With a trial they would have done that anyway but the distraction would have been there up until his execution.