Assasinate Gaddafi?

Question: If killing one man would save the lives of ten-thousand others, should we do it?

On Tuesday, the U.K. government claimed Muammar Gaddafi is a legitimate target for assassination.  They hold the position that killing the Libyan leader would be legal if it prevented civilian deaths as laid out in a U.N. resolution.  U.S. defence secretary Robert Gates countered, saying it would be unwise to target the Libyan leader, and that killing Gaddafi was not allowed under the U.N. mandate.

I say we should.  My reasoning is that Gaddafi is the military leader of the Libyan army and thus 'fair game' just like any other enemy soldier.  Actually, Gaddafi should be considered a high value target - higher than any 'command and contol' center targeted by our Tomahawk missles.  Killing Gaddafi  would bring this civil war to a rapid conclusion and would save thousands of Libyan and possibly American, Brittish, and other lives.

The world would shed no tears if Gaddafi was killed.  His country would prosper without him, and his neighbors sleep easier.  He is one crazy scoundrel in a place of immense power, and the world would be a better place without him.  So why would Britain mention this as a possiblity and the U.S. immediately stifle it?  Could it be that political correctness has spread to the military?  Is it no longer about the outcome of a war, but how we are preceived by other countries?