Deposed Libyan dictator Moammar Qaddafi’s death is under investigation because Human Rights Watch (HRW) says it has new evidence that he was not killed in a crossfire, which has been the new Libyan government’s explanation, but summarily executed after he was captured by opposition militia.
“Death of a Dictator: Bloody Vengeance in Sirte,” a 50-page report by HRW, states that Misrata-based militias captured and disarmed some 66 members of Kadhafi’s convoy in his hometown of Sirte last October. The report continues that the militias then executed those members of Qaddafi’s convoy.
HRW emergencies direcrtor Peter Bouckaert asserted, “Our findings call into question the assertion by Libyan authorities that Moammar Qaddafi was killed in crossfire, and not after his capture.”
Interestingly, the State Department is suddenly concerned about this issue; spokesperson Victoria Nuland said:
“We are urging the government of Libya to genuinely investigate all these claims and to prosecute any perpetrators in a manner consistent with Libya’s international obligations. It’s very important to hold those responsible to account. This is part of… not only the judicial maturation of Libya but also part of the ground that they need to plow for national reconciliation.”
Here’s why this is so cynical: at the end of March, 2011, months before Qaddafi was deposed and murdered, Barack Obama signed a secret presidential finding authorizing covert operations to aid the rebels against Qaddafi. One contingency the finding discussed was sending arms to the Libyan rebels. When Obama was asked about the possibility, he said, “We are examining all options to support the opposition.”
But Rep. Mike Rogers, head of the House Intelligence Committee, warned against sending arms to the Libyan insurgents:
“It’s safe to say what the rebels stand against. But we are a long way from an understanding of what they stand for. We don’t have to look very far back in history to find examples of the unintended consequences of passing out advanced weapons to a group of fighters we didn’t know as well as we should have. We need to be very careful before rushing into a decision that could come back to haunt us.”
Even the U.N. resolution that authorized airstrikes embargoed weapon shipments to Libya. But Secretary of State Hillary Clinton dodged that, saying that the embargo on weapons likely applied only to those sold to the government.
But there was a report on Al-Jazeera on April 4, 2011, that American special forces were training the rebels in how to use Katyusha rockets that had come illegally through Egypt.
And even more importantly, Reuters reported that the Obama Administration supported the rebels with arms.
After Qaddafi was killed, Hillary Clinton laughed, “We came, we saw, he died.” Now her State Department is feigning outrage over how Qaddafi was murdered.
Is there any limit to the hypocrisy of this Administration?
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