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The initial gut reaction to the above question is a resounding "YES!" Of course, people who harm children should be punished severely... But after a little more consideration, this issue deserves a closer look.

The key to a clear understanding of this issue is recognizing that most of us live in a country where our rights are protected. The simple things we take for granted like "due process", "presumption of innocence until proven guilty", and "judgment before a jury of our peers" do not exist everywhere. We assume if something like this is reported, there are facts to back it up. The checks, balances, and rights we enjoy here simply do not exist in Libya. The system of government in Libya is reported by it's leaders as "Jamahiriya", or "a state by the masses". They claim to be similar to a representative democracy through local councils, but in reality are governed by a military dictatorship.

Ask yourself, which of these scenarios is more likely?

a: A group of health care workers sworn to "do no harm" conspire, with the help of the CIA and Mossad, to infect the innocent with a deadly disease; risking an epidemic and resulting in hundreds of deaths.

b: A corrupt dictatorship whose failed policies have led to shoddy health care tries to cover up it's failings by blaming a disease outbreak on a fabricated conspiracy of health care workers.

To find out the truth, a review of the evidence by experts as well as a trial by jury evaluating all of the facts is necessary. This will not happen in Libya. Very little facts have emerged in this case, as information out of Libya is controlled by Libyan Dictator, Muammar Gaddafi. In at one point, he claimed that the CIA and Mossad worked together with these health care workers to spread HIV to these children, in a bid to find the cure for aids. He later retracted this statement.

BBC reports that the french doctor who discovered the infection found the epidemic was likely caused by poor hygiene in the health care facilities.

To answer the question:

The execution of these health care workers is brutal, given that there is a chance they may be innocent of any wrongdoing.

I wonder if Michael Moore will go to Libya for state sponsored medicine in his next feature film?

Learn more about this author, Patrick California.
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