Should Gadhafi Receive a 'Get Out of Jail Free Card' Via Exile?

COMMENTARY | In order to end the conflict in Libya sooner, the idea has surfaced in the coalition about possibly letting Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi take exile rather than face a possible international criminal court trial, even though the latter is preferred. Yet would the ranting and raving despot take exile or will he fight to the bitter end to preserve what he thinks his twisted mind has or should keep on having?

One of the pros of giving the Libyan dictator a "get out of jail free" card would be that if he's no longer in the country, that could end this conflict in Libya and allow the populace to look forward to a possible better future. Another pro would be that less military action and expenditure would be forthcoming.

Yet there are more serious cons of allowing exile for Gadhafi on the grounds of justice and morality. What message would it send to the families who lost their loved ones to Gadhafi's alleged ordering (as charged by one of his former ministers) of the successful plot to bomb Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988? What message would it send to the woman who braved Gadhafi's henchmen this past weekend to tell journalists about the horrendous ordeal she allegedly went through being gang raped but who could be facing charges of her own? This is just the tip of the iceberg. Letting this man go and hide under some other rock in the world tells his victims that not only should evil not always be punished, but also that alleged evil shouldn't always be tried in court.

Furthermore, in exile, Gadhafi could still keep in contact with shadowy and just plain mean people who want to continue to terrorize the world. If the man is in jail or executed for being found guilty for various crimes (or during the conflict), it's going to be a lot harder to stir up more trouble.

Getting justice sometimes has a big price. But a bigger price to pay is letting a terrible human being go free without having to pay for his direct and indirect crimes against the human race.