Editorial: Gadhafi's end is new beginning for Libya

The death of Moammar Gadhafi, who for 42 years cruelly repressed his own people and sowed seeds of terrorism around the world, ends a tragic era for Libya.

The Libyan people, who bravely and audaciously defied Gadhafi, now have what they have long deserved: The opportunity to begin a new chapter in their national story.

Now is the time for the Transitional National Council -- which since Tripoli fell to the rebels has been Libya's interim government -- to reestablish order and security in all parts of the country.

That includes ensuring the humane treatment of captured Gadhafi loyalists. Most important, the TNC must live up to the ideals its leaders espoused over the last year by holding a general election for a governing national council.

Gadhafi's government is just the latest tyranny to topple as a result of the Arab Spring protest movement sweeping North Africa and the Mideast.

After a shaky start, President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have increasingly positioned America on the right side of history by shifting support away from dictators and toward citizens.

More reassessments of relationships are needed, including with regional allies like Bahrain.

That was the case in Libya, where Gadhafi not only refused to reform or resign, but threatened to slaughter thousands in Benghazi and elsewhere.

Of course, the United States cannot intervene in every humanitarian crisis. But that does not mean that it should not intervene in some.

And when we do go to war, we should do so with allies, which is what we did by working with NATO and a few Arab countries. As usual, our forces performed heroically. They saved thousands of lives without suffering any American casualties.

While triumphant, NATO nations should also be humbled by their inconsistent interaction with Gadhafi and his family, who in recent years were often treated as reformers when evidence suggested otherwise.

Diplomacy, and even rapprochement, are necessary, but the West should have been more wary, given Gadhafi's record.

In particular, dictators ruling other countries undergoing Arab Spring protest movements, such as Syria, Yemen, Bahrain and others, should heed their people's calls for change.

The international community, too, should listen to the people, and act multilaterally to ratchet up diplomatic and economic pressure.

Due to Chinese and Russian recalcitrance, efforts of late have failed to apply greater pressure on Syria, which may embolden that nation's tyrant Bashar Assad, who is trying to kill his way out of a widespread protest movement.

We do not celebrate anyone's death -- not even that of a brute like Gadhafi. But now that he and his regime are gone, we urge the new rulers of Libya to justify the sacrifices so many have made.

And just as America stood with the Libyan people in a time of war, we must stand ready to help secure what all hope will be a new era of peace.