What Do You Think?

[jerrys1960]

Hum … it seems everyone did not get the same memo about Gaddafi.

One groups says he is not a target the other says he is being targeted.

Guess there were two different meetings that day.

Or perhaps what they meant to say and maybe got lost in translations is that . . .
Gaddafi is not and can not be targeted by the missiles and bombs we are currently using in the air strikes. . . . . . long pause . . . however . . . the building or bunker or whatever he is hiding in can be targeted by the air strikes.

[jerrys1960]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12802939


21 March 2011

Gaddafi 'not targeted' by allied strikes


Libyan government spokesman Ibrahim Musa said the strike had targeted an "administrative building"

Allied forces carrying out air strikes in Libya say Colonel Muammar Gaddafi himself is not a target, despite an overnight attack against his compound.

The head of the US Africa Command Gen Carter F Ham said attacking Col Gaddafi was not part of his mission.

And a French spokesman said that even if the Libyan leader's exact location was known, he would not be fired on.

The UN has passed a resolution to protect civilians as Col Gaddafi fights a rebellion that broke out last month.

Tripoli complex hit

On Sunday UK Defence Secretary Liam Fox said targeting Col Gaddafi could "potentially be a possibility".

However, on Monday Britain's Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Sir David Richards, said targeting Col Gaddafi was "not allowed under the UN resolution".

And Prime Minister David Cameron told MPs that while he still wanted Col Gaddafi to go, the UN resolution was "limited in scope" and "explicitly does not provide legal authority for action to bring about Gaddafi's removal from power by military means".

The UN document, approved by the Security Council last week, authorises "all necessary measures" to protect civilians from pro-Gaddafi forces - including a no-fly zone.

A French defence ministry spokesman, Laurent Tesseire, said Col Gaddafi was not a target.

Asked by French radio whether the Libyan leader would be fired on if his exact whereabouts were known, he said: "The answer to that is no."

The comments came after a second night of US-led action in Libya. Ten to 12 missiles were fired, a spokesman for the US Africa Command said.

In Tripoli, Col Gaddafi's sprawling Bab al-Aziziya complex was hit. Western journalists taken to the compound were shown a ruined building.

An official from one of the coalition countries, who asked not to be named, told journalists the strike had destroyed Col Gaddafi's "command and control capability".

Between 70 and 80 coalition sorties were flown on Monday.

Gen Ham said there was "no intent to destroy completely the Libyan military".

But he added: "If they stop and take up defensive positions, we can attack. It depends on where they are and what their intentions are. If they attack civilians, it is within our mandate to attack them."

But Gen Ham said there had been no direct co-ordination with anti-Gaddafi rebels.

He also said the no-fly zone would soon expand to cover a 1,000-km (620-miles) area.

The coalition's action against Col Gaddafi began on Saturday with French air strikes in the east. A barrage of cruise missiles, launched from US and British surface ships and submarines followed.

'Misinterpreted'

Meanwhile in Moscow, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin condemned the UN resolution as "flawed".

"It allows everything," he said on Monday. "It resembles medieval calls for crusades." Russia abstained during the Security Council vote on the resolution last week.

Mr Medvedev said Mr Putin's use of the word "crusade" was unacceptable.

Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa, who had previously appeared to criticise the coalition air strikes, said on Monday his comments had been "misinterpreted" and that the league was "committed to UN Security Council Resolution 1973".

Diplomats say a UN Security Council meeting will be held behind closed doors on Monday to discuss the Libyan situation.

Envoys from Nato met in Brussels on Monday to try to sort out any differences of strategy, amid concerns from Turkey in particular about military involvement.

But French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said Nato would be ready to support the coalition within "a few days".

Renewed fighting was reported in Misrata, 200km (130 miles) east of Tripoli, on Monday.

The city has been under siege by government troops and rebel spokesmen said pro-Gaddafi forces were using "overwhelming firepower" and had bombarded the city for a fourth day.

Separate rebel spokesmen said there had been between nine and 11 deaths at the hands of pro-Gaddafi forces but the reports cannot be independently confirmed.

There were reports that pro-Gaddafi forces were bringing civilians to Misrata from outlying areas to deter further allied strikes.

Col Gaddafi has ruled Libya for more than 40 years. An uprising against him began after the long-time leaders of neighbouring Tunisia and Egypt were toppled.

[jerrys1960]

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/britain-refuses-to-rule-out-targeting-muammar-gaddafi-in-airstrikes/story-e6frg6so-1226025712007?from=public_rss

Muammar Gaddafi a 'legitimate target': UK

Brad Norington and John Lyons
From: The Australian
March 22, 2011

THE British government has raised the possibility of assassinating Muammar Gaddafi to force regime change in Libya, after a barrage of allied air strikes successfully imposed a no-fly zone over the country.

British Defence Secretary Liam Fox said yesterday that Gaddafi was a "legitimate target" after airstrikes flattened the control and command centre in his Tripoli compound and as strains started to appear over the multinational operation.

The comments by Dr Fox fuelled international complaints, particularly from the Arab League, that US and British cruise missile strikes - including one that hit Gaddafi's compound in Tripoli - had gone beyond a UN resolution intended to stop the dictator using violence against his own people.

The Libyan military declared a ceasefire and halted its siege of the rebel-held city of Benghazi in the country's east yesterday in response to attacks by 124 Tomahawk cruise missiles that knocked out the country's air defences. Jet fighters also destroyed Libyan tanks and armoured vehicles outside Benghazi.

Coalition forces led by the US, Britain and France were sceptical about Gaddafi honouring the ceasefire, but confirmed that Libya's leader was largely isolated.

Exposing differences within the UN-backed international coalition, Britain's Defence Secretary said that killing Gaddafi "would potentially be a possibility" although civilian casualties would have to be taken into account.

Dr Fox was also reported in London's Daily Mail saying he would sanction a "bunker-buster" attack on Gaddafi's residence if civilians could be spared.

The US promptly urged against any widening of objectives set by the UN Security Council resolution it backed last Friday.

It also denied that Gaddafi was an intended target, despite President Barack Obama having demanded the dictator step aside after losing the legitimacy to rule. US Defence Secretary Robert Gates dismissed the notion that Gaddafi should be targeted, saying allied forces needed to stick within the mandate of resolution 1973. "If we start adding objectives, then I think we create a problem in that respect," he said. "I also think it is unwise to set as specific goals things that you may or may not be able to achieve."

With the US wary about its role in Libya being portrayed as an American quest for power, and not wanting to be embroiled in another war, Dr Gates insisted the US would not have the pre-eminent role in military action after leading the assault with cruise missiles to knock out the country's air defences.

Pentagon spokesman Vice-Admiral William Gortney yesterday hailed the success of attacks on Libya's air defences that had freed the skies for patrols by allied jets. "The no-fly zone is now effectively in place," he said.

Admiral Gortney also talked down the ambitions of the UN-backed mission. "We are not going after Gaddafi," he said. "At this particular point, I can guarantee he is not on the target list."

A senior military official from the international coalition confirmed the strike on Gaddafi's headquarters, but insisted the Libyan dictator was not the intended target.

He said allied forces did not know Gaddafi's whereabouts and the intent of the missile attack was to destroy an area inside the compound that controlled Libyan forces.

Gaddafi has key military leaders and personnel based in his compound as well as underground bunkers and an airstrip. Libyan officials were quick to give reporters a tour of the compound. "It was a barbaric bombing," spokesman Ibrahim Mussa said.

Scores of civilians, including children, were in the compound last night raising suggestions they are being used as human shields.

Arab League secretary-general Amr Moussa on Sunday expressed concerns about the extent of bombing, saying the league had given support for a no-fly operation and not a broader operation.

Britain, France and the US are very keen to quickly involve Arab countries to try to dispel the suggestion it is a US-led operation. Support from the league was a pre-condition for US support of the UN resolution.

"What is happening in Libya differs from the aim of imposing a no-fly zone, and what we want is the protection of civilians and not the bombardment of more civilians," Mr Moussa said on Sunday.

But standing beside Ban Ki-moon at the league's headquarters in Cairo last night, Mr Moussa changed his tune after the UN secretary-general said it was vital the world speak as one to implement resolution 1973 and only the support of the Arab world had allowed "strong and decisive measures" to be taken.

"We are committed to the UNSC Resolution 1973, we have no objection to this decision, particularly as it does not call for an invasion of Libyan territory," Mr Moussa said. "We are working in co-ordination with the United Nations to protect the civilians in Libya."

Mr Moussa said his earlier comments had been motivated by concerns about civilians being caught up in the coalition strikes, as Arab governments did not want to see more deaths in Libya.

Russia, which abstained from the vote on the UN resolution rather than prevent it from passing by using its power of veto, also expressed concerns about the extent of the bombing and possible civilian casualties.

The resolution passed last Friday permitted "all necessary measures" to protect civilians in Libya - a much broader form of wording than the original suggestion of a no-fly zone.

The issue of civilian casualties will be crucial in whether the operation keeps any Arab League support in coming weeks.

Coalition leaders were hoping that Qatar would provide at least four fighter jets imminently and were talking to Kuwait and other Arab countries to try to get at least a nominal involvement.

The Arab League involvement is a complicated one - one of the sponsors of the UN resolution was Lebanon. The US, France and Britain wanted an Arab country to be sponsor, and Lebanon volunteered.

However, since militant Islamic group Hezbollah effectively controls the country following the collapse of the government earlier this year, any military involvement by Lebanon alongside the US would be impossible.