On Aug. 17, The Japan Times published an article titled "Seeking justice for Kim Jong Nam," about the killing of the half-brother of the North Korea's ruler. Below that article was a news item headlined "Libya militiamen get death for 2011 killings." I see great irony in these stories appearing on the same page.
For the Kim assassination, North Korea hired two young women to kill him and only him. Each of the women was given $600.
For the assassination of Moammar Gadhafi seven years earlier, the U.S., England and France hired NATO and Libyan rebels. The rebels were trained by the CIA and given provisions and weapons worth more than $1 billion.
NATO planes bombed all of the military installations between Benghazi and Tripoli to aid the rebels' advance to the capital and, in the end, bombed the car in which Gadhafi was attempting to escape. For the assassination of one man, NATO and the CIA bombed many of Tripoli's public buildings, destroying Libya's capacity to provide its citizens with water and killing hundreds of Libyan civilians. They did everything except pull the trigger of the gun that killed Gadhafi.
Justice? Sure! When two young women from developing countries kill a man, there should be justice. But when a woman acting as the U.S. Secretary of State arranges for a man's murder, she can not only get away with it but laugh about it on camera. Then she can run for president. It all makes sense if you believe in NATO and the U.S.
The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.