New video evidence below shows Maummar Gadhafi was alive after being seized in the operation that led to his capture. What I find rather disconcerting is the treatment of this video by the media, which covered the “joy” and “celebration” of the event while ignoring the shocking abuse of a wounded man and then the parading and stripping of this corpse. We were appalled when militants paraded the bodies of Americans in Somalia and Iraq. Yet, when it is someone we hate, it barely draws mention while newspapers taunt the dead man as being pulled “from a stinking drain.”
Following the killing, President Obama took to the air to herald the victory and a “future . . . of dignity.”
We long denounced Gadhafi on this blog. However, the treatment of Gadhafi below should shock the conscience. Only this morning did I see a brief story on CNN interviewing a man on how he felt about the way Gadhafi died. The thrust however was not about the abuse but the lost opportunity of a trial.
Instead of addressing the abuse of a wounded man and later a corpse, CNN and other outlets simply warned about graphic images and focused on Libyans firing weapons (including heavy machine guns) into the air (a moronic form of celebration that led to the wounding of various civilians).
We previously discussed the discomfort of watching Americans dancing and celebrating the shooting of Bin Laden. The media again did not dare to question the propriety of such displays despite the condemnation of the same displays in other countries after the 9-11 attacks.
Because human rights groups have called for an investigation and raised the question of whether he was shot in the head after capture, CNN and other news outlets are raising the question this morning. CNN’s anchor notes this morning that “some people” may find the parading of the body again this morning (including being struck by shoes as a sign of contempt) “might not be respectful.”
This video should shock the conscience and the story should be not the celebration but the crime depicted in this video.
Here is my warning: the video below is graphic and shows the abuse of a wounded man and corpse as a form of celebration. Human beings will find this video disgusting.
For Mike Spindel
http://moe.met.fsu.edu/~acevans/models/al962011.png
Bdaman,
Thanks for the info, hope my home will be there when I return from NY. How’s Mom doing and the family too?
Oh brother … how long have you been saving that one … lol
🙂
Dredd,
We all know that these revolutions are seldom if ever about the freedom of the people. They are about oil or power or power or power or sometimes oil. sometimes though, the people can grab a little bit of freedom during a revolt and transition. Of course if the new government is like ours and pretends to be a democracy, all the outside interests have to do is buy the appropriate politicians and laws to benefit them. Is it just me or does the scope of the evil and the intricacy of their schemes seem just a tad overwhelming sometimes?
Thanks raff. I am offended deeply by the repeated showing of a grisly video of a dead body on television, but understand the celebration.
Perhaps if people in the West would realize the Libyans are not celebrating the death as much as what it symbolizes. If I were a Libyan, I probably would be dancing in the street as well.
Regarding the media, I have always been in disagreement with the editorial policy of, “If it bleeds, it leads.”
Yes, you are correct Jon…when one of “our” people is abused on the world stage, our media calls it an “outrage”…but when we do it to other people, it is a patriotic event.
This is a characteristic of a Fascist country. Hitler did it; The Israelis do it to this day; we are doing it today.
It is the norm now, and the sheeple in this country just blindly accept it.
Well said OS. Living and dying by brutality.
“My bad Swathmore Mom. Could thing I wore corrective shoes growing up. I now stand corrected.” (bdaman)
Oh brother … how long have you been saving that one … lol
culheath,
What’s that old saying? … Bad manners are better than no manners at all …
Quite frankly, a well developed sense of “bad-manners-timing” is a necessary survival skill on this blog.
Dredd,
Sorry. I think you’re full of crap on this one. No one here is bowing to down to anyone in their dislike of the man. As I said, it is a response to actions that requires no approval other than having a conscience.
Correction (added words in caps):
It appears to be the exception rather than the rule IF despotic dictators DO NOT meet grisly fates at the hands of the downtrodden.
I just got home a few minutes ago. Been at a continuing education seminar all day which covered material I know by heart…. i.e., a totally waste of time and money, but gotta have those CE credits to keep license. What that means is that I have not had time to read all the comments, but have skimmed and have some sense of the majority sentiments.
My take is this. In view of the fact this is another country, with another culture, with no working government or laws, I am not at all surprised. I remember the photos of Mussolini and his mistress hanging upside down from lampposts. I also remember what happened to Romanian President Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife on Christmas Day 1989. There is a long list of dictators who have met similar fates. It appears to be the exception rather than the rule for despotic dictators to meet grisly fates at the hands of the downtrodden. When there has been a trial, it is either a show trial or a sham and runs the risk of allowing the former dictator to regain power by mobilizing his followers.
When there is a revolt of an oppressed people, the results of the rebellion is seldom pretty. I just cannot get very worked up about this particular dictator and his end. Had Gaddafi not been so hardheaded, he could have taken the course Idi Imin took and gone into exile in Saudi Arabia or some other country that would have him.
Sorry long day SB good
My bad Swathmore Mom. Could thing I wore corrective shoes growing up. I now stand corrected.
The United States has now killed three of its citizens in Yemen in the past month as a result of unmanned aerial strikes carried out by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
Following the deaths in late September of Anwar al-Awlaki, the U.S.-born cleric, and Samir Khan, an al-Qaeda propagandist from North Carolina, an American drone strike on October 14 killed Abdulrahman al-Awlaki, the 16-year-old son of the cleric. At the time, the U.S. government led the media to believe that Abdulrahman was at least 21 years old.
http://www.allgov.com/US_and_the_World/ViewNews/Third_US_Citizen_Killed_by_Obamas_Yemen_Drone_Strikes_was_a_16_Year_Old_Boy_111020
Yep!
Mubarak is not dead and Derwish died in 2002.
Obama’s list is becoming quite impressive
Mubarak
Osama
Gahdafi
Awlaki- U.S. Citizen
Khan -U.S. Citizen
Derwish- U.S. Citizen
Prof. Turley is right. What you are seeing here is the lex talionis. Predictable but still despicable. The idea of bringing children to see the corpse reminds me of bringing children to see hangings.
Dredd,
Might I suggest toning that down a bit?
You don’t need “a system” to tell you that Gadhafi was an evil tyrant. Just a conscience. That being said, what was done to him was an injustice. He was in custody. Instead of facing trial for his bad actions, he was brutally beaten and murdered. But the reasons to hate his past actions? No. You don’t need anyone to tell you to hate the man. His actions incurred that reaction of people of conscience without any prompting whatsoever.
Seamus, well spoken!
I didn’t see the footage until today to better understand the Professors posting nor did I watch any reports about it. I asumed it wold be a circus and apparently in some measure it was. I think that’s a de-evolution for the news industry.
I went elsewhere on the web and found another video that is more complete, clear and explicit. He was taken into custody, beaten, displayed and then put in an ambulance. When he went into the ambulance he was not shot in the stomach, chest or head. He was murdered in the ambulance, shot three times.
I like movies and I don’t mind relevant violence and gore. But I know the difference between movies and reality. It’s very different watching a video of a real murder, watching someone painfully on their way to death. The video made me queasy to say the least.
That he was a monster is beside the point to me. One of the Trackbacks is from “Lawyers on Strike” and the host states the reason succinctly:
“There are certain basic rules of conduct, even in war, designed to hold the line between remaining somwhat civilized even in the midst of horror, and giving over to the horror completely, descending into barbarism. One such rule is that you don’t kill someone who is in your custody and not resisting or fleeing.”
That about sums it up for me.