Qaddafi ouster a US policy not mission goal: Obama

As aerial bombardments cripple Libyan defences, rebels say they aim to capture Tripoli without aid of foreign forces.

TRIPOLI/ SANTIAGO: President Barack Obama announced on Monday that though the US policy on Libya is to see Muammar Qaddafi removed from power the US administration would stick to the mandate of UN Resolution 1973 ­ which is aimed at protecting civilians.

At a news conference in the Chilean capital Santiago, Obama said the military objective in Libya is to guard civilians from attacks, not oust Qaddafi from power.

Obama's remarks made echoed the State Department's position as articulated by spokesman Mark Toner.
“We're trying to convince Qaddafi and his regime, and his associates that they need to step down from power,“ Toner said. “That remains our ultimate goal here.“

Libyan state television reported new attacks on several sites, including Qaddafi's bastions, in Tripoli by the “crusader enemy“.

In Misrata, government forces continued to storm the rebel-held city near Tripoli killing at least 40 people. The fighting comes as Tripoli accused both coalition forces and the rebels of breaking a ceasefire, which it had announced late Sunday.

In Washington, the Pentagon said Western strikes had crippled Qaddafi's military might, but signalled it would keep Libyan rebels at arm's length as it seeks to avoid getting mired in a messy civil conflict.

According to the US president, Nato will be involved in helping to coordinate the next phase of action in Libya. The US expects some kind of transfer of command within days, not weeks, he said.

Libyan rebels, meanwhile, said they aimed to capture Tripoli and force out Qaddafi.
They welcomed the international action but said they did not want foreign ground forces to intervene in the war.

In Paris, an armed forces spokesman said that France had deployed around 20 military aircraft over Libya on Monday, but had not carried out any air strikes by late afternoon on Monday.

France's Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier should be in place and ready to participate in the operation in Libya from Tuesday.

In Tehran, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused Washington of seeking a strategic “foothold” in oilrich Libya. If the West wanted to help Libyan civilians, he said, it would arm them rather than bomb Qaddafi.

Washington will soon reduce its participation in the coalition operation in Tripoli, Russia’s Interfax news agency cited US Defence Secretary Robert Gates as saying. Gates also said it would be a mistake for the coalition to set for itself

the goal of killing Qaddafi. “I think it's pretty clear to everybody that Libya would be better off without Qaddafi. But that is a matter for the Libyans themselves to decide,“ Gates told Interfax news agency.

In Cairo, the Arab League on Monday reaffirmed its support for the West-led Operation Odyssey Dawn. Europe remained divided however despite a UN appeal for unity.

Political solution needed: Khar

Pakistan on Monday voiced serious concern over the loss of precious human lives in Libya following military strikes and the enforcement of a no-fly zone by Western powers.

“A peaceful political solution needs to be evolved by the Libyan people themselves in the spirit of mutual accommodation and national reconciliation,” Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar said in a statement released on Monday. Khar cautioned that “reports of civilian casualties” were extremely

distressing and “could have far-reaching implications about interpretation and implementation of humanitarian principles”.

She called for restraint to be shown by all sides.

About the plight of Pakistani expatriate workers in Libya, she said: “Our embassy in Tripoli and the special task force in the ministry of foreign affairs are working round-the-clock to ensure the safety of our nationals,” she added.

More than 5,000 Pakistani nationals have been evacuated so far from the strife-hit country.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 22^nd, 2011.