THE DOMINO EFFECT IN THE MIDDLE EAST

@Tripolitanian

#Gaddafi forces have attacked British, Italian embassies in #Tripoli - the embassies are completely burned and a police car is just watching
3 minutes ago via web

@Tripolitanian

100 tanks arrived at outskirts of #Misrata and preparing to enter, mortar fire + Grad missiles has left the port in flames | #Libya #Feb17
less than 20 seconds ago via web

@Tripolitanian

#Gaddafi is about to cause mass genocide in #Misrata - the world needs to forget about fucking Saif Al-Arab & save #MISRATA's 500,000
5 minutes ago via web

wjk wrote:Jeez!!
Thanks carmen

#SaveMisrata #SaveLibya @NATO @UN @UKNATO
4 minutes ago via web
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@USArmy_vet gas masks report is based on only 1 eyewitness, still waiting for more confirmation
5 minutes ago via web in reply to USArmy_vet
@ShahedMisurata Libya AlHurra said this :S
10 minutes ago via web in reply to ShahedMisurata
@ShahedMisurata @hanin_libya that's true - but probably some are wearing army clothes+masks, others wearing just civ clothes
10 minutes ago via web in reply to ShahedMisurata
@Freedom_7uriyah Misrata free radio + Libya Alhurra + FB
11 minutes ago via web in reply to Freedom_7uriyah
#Gaddafi forces have hit port + Eastern #Misrata with incendiary weapons - described as "burning for hours"
12 minutes ago via web
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WARNING: #Gaddafi forces have entered #Misrata from the West | #Libya
13 minutes ago via web

@Tripolitanian

#GADDAFI THE BABY MURDERER. These kids are from #Misrata: http://j.mp/m2lLuA_xxx
less than a minute ago via web

03:42 PM ET
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Post by:
CNN's Amar C. Bakshi

Should NATO assassinate Gadhafi?
Stephen Walt over at Foreign Policy debates the pros and cons of assassination, and explains why the practice might be growing increasingly acceptable to pundits and policymakers.
The prompt for Walt’s reflection was news that NATO attacked Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi’s compound in Tripoli. NATO officials deny this was an attempt to kill Gadhafi, but Walt writes, “it is hard to believe that the officials responsible weren't hoping for a lucky shot….”
Citing Ward Thomas, Walt then explains how assassination receded as a tool of foreign policy:
"This shift occurred in part because great powers preferred to confine conflict to the clash of armies on the battlefield (where they had the advantage over weaker states), and partly because it helped enshrine the idea that war was conducted by states and not by individuals."
But circumstances are changing in such a way as to make assassination more palatable to great power leaders, Walt argues:
1. “as warfare became increasingly destructive, states began to look for cheaper alternatives.”
2. “terrorist groups routinely employ assassination against the states they oppose, and states have responded with targeted killings against suspected terrorist leaders.”
3. “in the post-Nuremberg environment, national leaders are increasingly seen as individually responsible and morally accountable for acts undertaken at their behest.”
This is troubling, says Walt, for another three reasons:
1. innocents may be killed along with the supposedly guilty
2. the murder of these innocents may create yet more adversaries
3. assassinations justify similar actions taken against U.S. leaders. Walt writes that this is the most important point:
“Targeted assassinations of foreign despots may seem like a cheap and efficient way of solving today's problem, but we won't enjoy living in a world where foreign adversaries think attacking U.S. leaders (including the president and his inner circle) is a perfectly legitimate way of doing business. And notice that making targeted killings more legitimate tends to level the international playing field: you don't have to be a powerful or wealthy state to organize a few hit squads and cause lots of trouble for your enemies. So even if this attempt at "decapitation" were to succeed in the short-term, the longer-term consequences may not be quite so salutary."
Do you agree? Should NATO assassinate Gadhafi?