The Colonel’s end

After more than 40 years of murderous rule and months fighting his own people, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi has finally been caught, and killed, in his hometown of Sirte.

This marks the end of the formal struggle against the Colonel’s regime, and, as such, is a great event for all Libyans. But Col Gaddafi’s death does create some complications for the new Libyan authorities. They have avoided a drawn-out judicial drama — like Slobodan Milosevic’s — which could have rallied people in the ex-dictator’s support. But his death also robs the new Libyan government of an opportunity to show that they are better than he was, by allowing a process of justice to take place. It also risks creating a martyr figure out of a man whose deeds, in life, would never have merited such adulation.

As for our own leaders, David Cameron has just given the statement that you can see above.