Okay. Many governments facing rebellions have engaged in the exact same behavior that Qaddafi was trying to do in Benghazi (and has probably done in other cities). Disappearances, wholesale intimidation, indiscriminate detention and killing of suspected rebels.
Our special forces are currently doing this in Afghanistan. We track down suspected insurgents, surround their houses at night, and “capture or kill” them. We find them in their closets. (Hopefully we use much more restraint and professionalism than the Sandanistas did, but the idea is exactly the same).
This behavior is atrocious, and a strong argument can be made that we should have prevented.
But it’s not genocide. For starters, i haven’t seen evidence he’s targeted all Benghazis, including women and children. He is also facing an armed rebellion. When people are in wars, they tend to do horrible things to rival groups to win the wars. This is not the same as ethnic cleansing or genocide.
I am not defending Qaddafi’s behavior. I think he should hang. But I also think the word “genocide” has a specific meaning, and it shouldn’t be thrown around willy-nilly.