If news reports coming out of Tripoli are true, then the brutal, murderous reign of Moammar Gadhafi is over in Libya. This will be terrific news for both the Libyan people and the world if confirmed. Gadhafi has ruled Libya for 42 years and is one of the world's worst dictator outlaws.
Even more important, though, is that his fall is one of the greatest victories of the revolts across the Arab world which have already claimed rulers in Tunisia and Egypt. It's no wonder that Syrian President Bashir al-Assad is warning the West to stay away from his country. Last week President Obama called for Assad to step down and the results in Libya could embolden the Syrian opposition to continue its fight. We'll also hear more about whether Obama's decision to support the Libyan rebels with NATO air attacks was ultimately justified.
The history of this struggle remains to be written, but the overthrow of Gadhafi is especially memorable for me because he was responsible for planning the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 that killed 259 people on the plane and 11 people on the ground in Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988. Included in that total were 35 students from my alma mater, Syracuse University. As a community, we have never forgotten this dastardly act.
It's a good day for freedom, but now comes the difficult job of rebuilding a nation.
No comments:
Post a Comment