Colonel Ghadaffi was an eccentric ruler who broke international laws but when you take a look at what else is happening in Arab countries throughout Africa and the Middle East there are many other rulers out there that are just as bad. Since there seems to be a world-wide consensus that Colonel Ghaddafi got the punishment he deserved I guess we should start cheering on the citizens of most militarized sovereign nations to kill their head of state.

The Colonel began his political career when he and several other junior military officers staged a bloodless coup d’état against King Idris while he was out of the country getting dental surgery.

Libyan’s were inspired by Ghadaffi’s speeches on Arab nationalism and he soon transformed Libya from one of the poorest nations on earth to one of the most successful state in Africa. He industrialized the country, and its vast oil reserves were turned into cash that went directly to helping his people. Libya has the highest literacy rate, the highest quality of life and the best healthcare in all of Africa thanks to Colonel Ghaddafi’s work.

Colonel Ghadaffi was killed by a rebel National Transitional Council soldier on October 20th. In videos shown around the world we see Ghadaffi being beaten to death with existing wounds all over his body. If the Libyan people want to align their country with the rest of the democratic world why are we celebrating someone being murdered? He was charged with a criminal act and had the right to stand trial but now he cannot answer for his alledged crimes.

Contrary to popular belief Colonel Ghadaffi was not a dictator. He was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the unofficial "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamirayah from 1977 to 2011. In 1977 Libya was more of a democracy than in the west. All adult Libyan’s were allowed to participate and vote within the Libyan People’s Congress on every major political decision that was made. When Ghadaffi proposed anything it had to be run by The Libyan People’s Congress which was officially the highest level of authority within Libya. The Libyan people participated in elections in a system that is completely foreign to us in the west.

Of course the actions of one soldier who administered the final blow do not reflect those of the Libyan people, but still there should be some condemnation. No matter who you are you have the fundamental right to explain your actions in a court room.

Colonel Ghadaffi was truly a misunderstood man. He did some bad things during his rule (the Lockerbie bombing, firing on protesters) but if the global community wanted to support popular uprisings throughout the world Libya was not the place to begin.

This is not the way the global community should treat a defendant. By condoning the murder of a head of state everything has come full circle. As Ghandi said, "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind."

We should not be punishing murder with murder, so stop celebrating.