Open Thread: How Will Libya Proceed Without Gaddafi?

October 20th, 2011 2:22 PM

Earlier today, officials confirmed that Gaddafi has been killed at the hands of National Transitional Council forces near his hometown of Sirte. The former Libyan leader was found hiding with bodyguards beneath a road near the city. He had been injured by a NATO airstrike, and died from wounds suffered during his capture.

How do you think Libya will proceed without Gaddafi? Do you think Obama will lessen American involvement with NATO forces? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

According to Reuters, Gaddafi's "death and the fall of the final bastion ended a nervous hiatus for the new interim government, which is now set to declare formal "liberation" with a timetable for elections." 

Gaddafi's death does not necessarily indicate an end in American support to Libya, though. In President Obama's speech earlier today, he emphasized: 

"...the United States, together with the international community, is committed to the Libyan people," he said. "Today's events prove once more that the rule of an iron fist inevitably comes to an end."

Republican leaders are also favoring continued American support in Libya.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said the United States and Europe would help Libya put together a representative government.

"A number of the people who led the Transitional National Council were educated in the United States, and we're obviously hopeful that they will want to have a representative government and that they will be an ally of the United States," he said.

How do you foresee a new government being constructed in Libya? Do you think we should maintain our same level of support?