There can be no justification for Muammar Gaddafi's 42 years of cruelty. During his rule, the Libyan leader hanged students merely for daring to protest. Political parties were suspended. The colonel ordered the execution of 1,200 prisoners in Abu Salim Jail. The three-hour slaughter of the followers of King Idris, whom he overthrew in 1969, was a black day in the history of this North African nation.

Gaddafi began his administration by killing hun