El Dorado Canyon is an assassination

Libya retaliates, along with the terrorist groups backed by Libya.

Whoever succeeds Gaddafi (and that's really the first issue), I expect he'll be a lot more restrained by character - and certainly by fear. Abu Nidal will probably cook up some terrorist act as revenge - maybe a strike on American soil, maybe something against Britain, given Thatcher's involvement, but it could ultimately be anything - but he's not the Libyan regime. In fact, the Libyan regime as we know it may come to an end; Gaddafi's rule has not been an unchallenged one.
 
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Hitting a C3 site (Command, Control, Communications), and finding out later that an enemy leader (and ol' Muammar sure was, at the time-we'd just had the Gulf of Sidra SinkEx three weeks earlier) was killed in the attack isn't an assassination. Remember that Saddam Hussein was targeted in both Iraq Wars because not of his role as President (for life) of Iraq, but in his other role as CINC-Iraqi Armed Forces. The only reason that Khadafy survived ELDORADO CANYON was that four of the F-111s targeted on his compound had to abort due to failure to ID the target with both radar and their Pave Tack pods. One more mis-ID'd the target and nailed the French Embassy instead (oops!). If all nine (one was shot down on egress) had bombed their target, Khadafy's HQ building, he would've been dead, even if he was sleeping in that tent of his. The concussion of 36 2000-lb GBU-10s hitting that building would've been enough-not to mention all the shrapnel and pieces of building flying in all directions. And as far as Khadafy was concerned: if he'd gotten himself killed, I don't think anyone outside the fringe left would've complained very much. Just about everyone here in the States wanted him ambient temperature. Even the Democrats in charge of the House. (the GOP held the Senate at the time) Even Tip O'Neil would've shut up the Democraps who compared every conflict or use of force to SEA.
 
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