Gadhafi's Demise: The Drone, the Mirage and the Unknown Gunman

As the fog of war slowly lifts in Libya, it still is not clear how exactly Moammar Gadhafi died Thursday while trying to flee his hometown of Sirte in a conspicuous convoy of about 100 vehicles.

What is known, thanks to confirmations today out of Washington and Paris, is that an American Predator drone teamed up with a French Mirage 2000 fighter jet to halt the convey and send its passengers scrambling, including Gadhafi.

Both the Predator and Mirage fired on the convoy, striking at least two vehicles. As videos and photos show, Gadhafi was wounded in those strikes, but was very much alive after he ran and hid in a roadside storm drain.

Revolutionary forces quickly hunted down the men who ran from their vehicles, finding several, including Gadhafi, down the drain.

Video and still photos show Gadhafi being roughed-up, but still alive in the revolutionary fighters' custody. A short while later, he was dead apparently the victim of a gunshot wound to the head, and, according to some reports, his chest and stomach, as well.

In Geneva, Rupert Colville, a spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the images "are very disturbing" because they suggest Gadhafi was killed after he was captured.

"We believe there is a need for an investigation," Colville said. "More details are needed to ascertain whether he was killed in some form of fighting or was executed after his capture."

So far there is no great rush by the governments in Tripoli, Washington, Paris, London, Ottawa or Istanbul to make a big deal of the details of the death of Gadhafi, whose body was put on ice in Misurata while people decide what to do with his remains.

Instead, the more universal sentiment from the revolutionary government, NATO members and their allies is that, for Gadhafi, the Arab Spring is over and the world is better off without him.

Clinton Maps Out Clear Role for Women in a Democratic Libya

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton insisted today that a new Libya must strive to give women a progressive and respected role in its emerging democracy.

At a press conference after her surprise meetings in Tripoli with the Transitional National Council leaders of the revolution, Clinton noted with glee that she has brought up the matter of universal human rights for women more than once in talks with TNC leaders.

The longtime champion for equal rights offered a thorough opinion, when asked, of how Libya should move forward to give women a righteous place in a progressive society:

"I would make three points. First, no country can become a democracy, no economy can develop as fully as it could, if half the population is not included. And the women of Libya have the same rights as their brothers and their husbands and their fathers and their sons to help build a new Libya. So we are very committed and very outspoken about what we hope will be the full inclusion of women in a democratic future.

"Secondly, women also sacrificed in this revolution. Women were in the streets. Women were supporting the fighters. Women were sending their sons and their husbands off to an uncertain future, and many will never see them again. So women have sacrificed. They may not have been on the front lines holding a weapon, but they were holding together the society and supporting those who were fighting for Libya’s independence. So they have earned the right to be part of Libya’s future.

"And finally, there is an opportunity here that I hope Libya will seize. I believe because you have won your freedom – no one handed it to you, you fought for it and you won it – that you will find it in your hearts to demonstrate to the entire world that Libya is not only free, but Libya is equal, Libya believes in the rule of law, Libya will educate all of their boys and girls to take their rightful places in the world. I would hope that I could come back to a free, democratic Libya in a few years, and it would be a shining example of what is possible when free people make their own choices.

"So I cannot imagine how that could come to pass if women are not given the right to serve their country, to run their businesses, to be educated to the best of their abilities. So I will certainly look to ways that the United States can support the women in Libya to be able to take their rightful places in this new democratic future."

US, UN Finally Takes Aim at Assad's Killing Fields

The United States and the United Nations today commenced with an economic and legal crackdown on the genocidal regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The U.S. targeted Assad's brother, Maher Al-Assad, the commander of the Fourth Armored Division that fired on Syrian civilians in Daraa this week, where the pro-democracy movement erupted in Syria.

The U.S. also named Syrian intelligence chief Ali Mamluk and former Daraa province governor Atif Najib as culprits responsible for the murder of peaceful pro-democracy Syrian demonstrators.

President Obama signed an executive order today authorizing the crackdown.

"As a result of this action, any property in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons in which the individuals listed in the Annex have an interest is blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them," the White House said.

The UN Human Rights Council, meanwhile, condemned for Assad his violent crackdown, opening the door to an investigation into the crimes against humanity his regime has perpetrated.

“With today’s vote, the council has stood against attempts to silence dissent with the use of gratuitous violence, which is not the act of a responsible government,” said U.S. Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice in the understatement of the day.