Cal Thomas‘ latest column shares his unease about the future of Libya after Moammar Gadhafi’s death.

Oh, I’m happy he’s dead, but I have as much faith that things will change for the better in Libya as I do in the Great Pumpkin rising from the pumpkin patch on Halloween night (sorry, Linus).

“Gadhafi’s Death Ushers in New Era,” read the headline in last Friday’s usually sober Wall Street Journal. “West Hails a Turning Point…,” read the sub-headline. The question is, or should be: A turning to what?

As Richard Boudreaux sensibly wrote in the Journal, “(Gadhafi) leaves a nation torn by war, devoid of civic institutions and difficult to govern.” What can be built on that rubble when Libyans have no history of practicing any of the values the West holds dear? No functional nation can rise when it rests on such a weak foundation.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has dropped an additional $11 million on Libya ($135 million since the uprising began), no doubt borrowed from the Chinese since we don’t have that kind of money.

Why do Democrats think money is the answer to everything? Let’s see if the rebels submit receipts and expense vouchers showing what they spent. It’s a safe bet much of it will go down the rat hole of corruption, as our money has in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.