Libya: Obama, Cameron and Sarkozy Vow....Gaddafi Must Go

US, British and French leaders have said in a joint letter there can be no peace in Libya while Muammar Gaddafi stays in power. Nato and its partners, they say, must maintain military operations to protect civilians and maintain pressure on Colonel Gaddafi's government. To allow him to remain in power, they argue, would be a betrayal of the Libyan people.
Col Gaddafi's daughter accused the leaders of "insulting" Libyans. "To speak of Gaddafi's resignation is a humiliation for all Libyans," Aisha Gaddafi told young loyalists at a rally in Tripoli.

Nato has been struggling to find additional warplanes for its mission. Only a few of its 28 members - including France, the UK, Canada, Belgium, Norway and Denmark - are conducting air strikes.
The alliance's Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, told foreign ministers in Berlin he had received no offers from any ally to supply the extra jets but remained hopeful.
Nato pilots are enforcing a UN resolution to protect civilians in Libya, which is split between forces for and against Col Gaddafi since a revolt against his rule began in mid-February.Fighting on the ground, as well as Nato bombing missions, continued on Thursday.

The letter comes at a time of growing unease at the failure of Western military action to dislodge Mr Gaddafi and tensions within Nato over the reluctance of certain members to do more.  The three leaders clearly feel that this is an important moment to present a united front and they are saying that it is not enough simply to protect Libyan civilians. As long as Muammar Gaddafi is in power, they write, Nato and its coalition partners must maintain their operations, and the colonel must go, and go for good.

It is an uncompromising message at a time of rising frustration at the way the military operation is going. At the meeting of Nato foreign ministers in Berlin, there were calls for some members, including Spain, to do more. And France's Foreign Minister, Alain Juppe, said US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had resisted his plea for American warplanes to resume air strikes.

Apart from a handful of raids in recent days, the US has allowed British and French warplanes to take the lead, concentrating instead on a variety of support roles. President Obama would prefer to keep it that way, and the latest opinion polls suggest that an overwhelming majority of Americans agree.

Signed by US President Barack Obama, British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, the letter says Libyans in cities like Misrata and Ajdabiya continue to suffer "terrible horrors at Gaddafi's hands". While the coalition has no mandate to remove Col Gaddafi by force, "it is impossible to imagine a future for Libya with Gaddafi in power", the leaders say. To allow him to remain in power "would be an unconscionable betrayal" of Libya's people, they argue, and would make Libya both "a pariah state [and] a failed state".

"So long as Gaddafi is in power, Nato and its coalition partners must maintain their operations so that civilians remain protected and the pressure on the regime builds," the letter continues.
"Then a genuine transition from dictatorship to an inclusive constitutional process can really begin, led by a new generation of leaders." The letter holds out the prospect of reconstruction for Libya with the help of the "UN and its members".

New Fighting:Mr Fogh Rasmussen said in Berlin that Nato would continue "day by day, strike by strike" to target Col Gaddafi's forces. Libyan state media reported new air strikes on the capital Tripoli on Thursday but a Nato official said the only strike he could confirm was against a surface-to-air missile battery 40km (25 miles) south of the city.
Reuters correspondents in Tripoli reported hearing four blasts and saw columns of smoke rising from the south-east of Tripoli. Heavy anti-aircraft fire was also heard, before and after the blasts.
Libyan TV broadcast pictures which appeared to show Col Gaddafi surrounded by cheering supporters as he stood through the sunroof of a car driving through Tripoli, pumping his fists in the air.

Fighting also continued in the rebel-held city of Misrata, western Libya, which has been besieged by pro-Gaddafi forces for nearly two months. Rebels said a rocket attack by pro-Gaddafi forces killed 23 people on Thursday morning but this could not be independently verified.
Earlier, the "Brics" group of five nations with emerging market economies - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - met in southern China and said "the use of force should be avoided" in Libya.

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