For US, Gadhafi’s Death a Laughing Matter

Chuckling Hillary Mocks Slain Dictator

In the ultimate reflection of the Obama Administration’s carefree attitude toward entering wars, a chuckling Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appeared on television today mocking the death of long-time Libyan ruler Moammar Gadhafi, barely restraining her delight while declaring “we came, we saw, he died.”

The remark was a modern take on the Julius Caesar hendiatris “Veni, Vidi, Vici” (I came, I saw, I conquered), though in Secretary Clinton’s case it would be “Veniimus, Vidimus, Morit.” Since she uses the plural “we came” she could also be referencing the first Ghostbuster movie, however.

President Obama himself termed the slaying of Gadhafi, under what remains mysterious circumstances, a “momentous day,” though he managed to see this without giggling like a gleeful schoolgirl.

The focus on the nature of Gadhafi’s death continues to center on various conflicting stories of his death, including how he managed to get shot in the head after his capture and before his arrival at the hospital.

But the story in the US is mostly in spinning the administration’s decision to start a war without Congressional approval and continue to resist Congressional calls for explanations as a policy vindicated by the death.

Behind the scenes, however, the joy is not so much about President Obama’s potential poll boost, which is sure to be squandered on some other ill-advised war he’ll start or escalate, but in the fact that Gadhafi’s death spares the administration the embarrassment a trial would have produced.

In particular, it means the secrets related to US rendition of dissidents to the Gadhafi regime won’t be coming to light any time soon, though since some of the rendees are now high profile figures in the National Transitional Council (NTC) that issue is unlikely to die completely.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.