By Katie Schubert
Omaha, NE – A UNO expert on international relations says the death of former Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi may end the hostilities in that nation.
Libyan rebels captured and killed Qadhafi Thursday. Tom Goutierre is Dean of UNO's International Studies and Programs. He believes Qadhafi's death will bring a sense of change throughout north Africa and the Middle East. "The question, of course, is whether or not in north Africa and the Middle East these changes will usher in the kind of civil societies that the rebels or the youth in particular who've been so engaged in this are seeking, and that's a very, very big if."
Goutierre says the fact that Qadhafi was killed by Libyan rebels legitimizes the revolution in that country. He says it also doesn't bring the same questions that arose when former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was captured, put on trial, and executed.
Goutierre says Qadhafi's death brought a sense of jubilation and hope to Libya. But he says it'll also bring challenges as Libya works to set up a new government.