Krauthammer Justifies War Criminals

In a recent column, Charles Krauthammer justified those who brutally murdered Moammar Gaddafi and desecrated his body after taking him captive. Krauthammer said Gaddafi deserved what he got, especially because he refused to leave Libya when the revolution began and “chose instead to fight to the death.” I usually find myself agreeing with Mr. Krauthammer, but I think he is dead wrong here. I don't care how wicked Gaddafi was, he did not deserve to die the way he did or have his body put on display the way it was.

While he may have forfeited his chance to exit the country when he had a chance, he did not choose to fight to the death. He was found cowering in some kind of tunnel or something. That means he had given up his fight. Just like a woman has a right to stop an intimate moment at any time in the process and declare that she does not want to go any further, any person who is engaged in any kind of combat has a right to stop and give up the fight at any point without being killed by his foes.

Those war criminals who murdered Gaddafi violated the rules set forth by the Geneva Conventions. You are not allowed to summarily kill someone who is taken as a prisoner of war, without due process of law. These people acted like a bunch of animals. They do not give me a warm and fuzzy feeling about the future of Libya, assuming they are in any way representative of the current leadership.

I also point the finger of blame at the NATO bombers who bombed Gaddafi’s convoy as he and those with him were trying to escape. The NATO bombers are accessories to this murder, and are borderline war criminals themselves. They had no business bombing people who were on an obvious defensive (escape) mission. They were not out to harm anyone at the time. They were just trying to get away with their lives.

I’m sure most people probably feel the same way that Krauthammer does about this incident. After all, they will likely conclude, few people would be more deserving of such a fate than Gaddafi. But, ultimately, it’s not about Gaddafi – it’s about us. By committing the same kinds of heinous acts that Gaddafi would have – or by cheering for those who do – we get pulled down to his level and forfeit any claim to moral superiority.

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