Libya: 'Noose tightening' on Col Gaddafi, Obama saysLibya: 'Noose tightening' on Col Gaddafi, Obama says Skip to main content

Libya: 'Noose tightening' on Col Gaddafi, Obama saysLibya: 'Noose tightening' on Col Gaddafi, Obama says

US President Barrack Obama at a news conference in Washington, 11 March 2011 President Barack Obama suggested all options were on the table

Libya Revolt

US President Barack Obama has said the world is "tightening the noose" on Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi, as rebels seek to drive him from power.
He said the world had an obligation to prevent any massacre of civilians in Libya similar to those that took place in Rwanda and Bosnia during the 1990s.
The US would take a range of actions to ensure Col Gaddafi left power, he said, and all options were on the table.
Meanwhile, US sanctions were extended to Gaddafi family members and aides.
And Mr Obama said an envoy would be appointed to consult with anti-Gaddafi representatives.
Speaking in Washington, the US president said that "we are slowly tightening the noose around Gaddafi" and "the bottom line is that I have not taken any options off the table at this point".
"Let me be as clear as I can about the desired outcome from our perspective, and that is that Gaddafi step down," he told reporters.
"And we're going to continue to work with the international community to try to achieve that and we're going to be in close consultation with these opposition groups, as they get organised, to see how we can bring about that outcome."

Analysis

Kim Ghattas BBC News, Washington
President Barack Obama made clear again he believed Muammar Gaddafi had to leave power. He said it was in the interests of the Libyan people and of the US.
But his own director of national intelligence, James Clapper, also made clear on Thursday he believed that the current military situation in Libya indicated that Col Gaddafi's forces were better equipped and could prevail. So where does that leave Mr Obama?
The president said Mr Clapper's comments were an assessment of reality, not policy. He went on to say that US policy was to tighten the noose around Mr Gaddafi until he left power.
Mr Obama did not give any details about what actions the US would consider taking but he said no option had been taken off the table and that the US had to balance cost versus benefit as it made decisions.
Mr Obama said he wanted to make it clear to Col Gaddafi "that the world is watching" his actions and that he and his government would be held accountable for harm done to civilians.
The Libyan leader was becoming "more and more isolated internationally" through sanctions and an arms embargo, he added.
The US Treasury department said Col Gaddafi's wife, four of his children and four senior officials, including Libya's defence minister and military intelligence chief, had now been blacklisted.
Under the sanctions, Americans are banned from doing business with them and any assests they may have under US jurisdiction will be frozen.
"Today's designation should send a strong signal to those responsible for the violence inflicted by Gaddafi and his government that the United States will continue steps to increase pressure and to hold them accountable," the Treasury department said.
Foreign intervention Meanwhile, leaders of the European Union's 27 member states meeting at an emergency summit in Brussels said Col Gaddafi must surrender power.
Map promo
However, they did not agree on a widely-mooted proposal for a no-fly zone over Libya.
The Arab League is meeting to discuss the Libyan crisis on Saturday. The African Union has already rejected any idea of foreign military intervention in Libya.
Forces loyal to Col Gaddafi continued to make gains on Friday.
There have been more airstrikes on the oil port of Ras Lanuf, with an oil refinery and a rebel checkpoint among the targets.
The town has been held by anti-Gaddafi forces for several days and rebels still reportedly control the inner city and residential areas.
Col Gaddafi's regime took a number of Western journalists to Zawiya on Friday for the first time since it was recaptured from the rebels.
The city, 30 miles (48km) west of Tripoli, was bombarded for days by government forces and reporters described scenes of devastation and streets that were deserted except for government supporters who had been brought in.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12719635
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Chronology of the Press in Burma

1836 – 1846 * During this period the first English-language newspaper was launched under British-ruled Tenasserim, southern  Burma . The first ethnic Karen-language and Burmese-language newspapers also appear in this period.     March 3, 1836 —The first English-language newspaper,  The Maulmain Chronicle , appears in the city of Moulmein in British-ruled Tenasserim. The paper, first published by a British official named E.A. Blundell, continued up until the 1950s. September 1842 —Tavoy’s  Hsa-tu-gaw  (the  Morning Star ), a monthly publication in the Karen-language of  Sgaw ,  is established by the Baptist mission. It is the first ethnic language newspaper. Circulation reached about three hundred until its publication ceased in 1849. January 1843 —The Baptist mission publishes a monthly newspaper, the Christian  Dhamma  Thadinsa  (the  Religious Herald ), in Moulmein. Supposedly the first Burmese-language newspaper, it continued up until the first year of the second Angl
Post a Comment
Read more

Thai penis whitening trend raises eyebrows

Image copyright LELUXHOSPITAL Image caption Authorities warn the procedure could be quite painful A supposed trend of penis whitening has captivated Thailand in recent days and left it asking if the country's beauty industry is taking things too far. Skin whitening is nothing new in many Asian countries, where darker skin is often associated with outdoor labour, therefore, being poorer. But even so, when a clip of a clinic's latest intriguing procedure was posted online, it quickly went viral. Thailand's health ministry has since issued a warning over the procedure. The BBC Thai service spoke to one patient who had undergone the treatment, who told them: "I wanted to feel more confident in my swimming briefs". The 30-year-old said his first session of several was two months ago, and he had since seen a definite change in the shade. 'What for?' The original Facebook post from the clinic offering the treatment, which uses lasers to break do
1 comment
Read more

Is 160 enough? One Indian man's family

By Sumnima Udas , CNN October 31, 2011 -- Updated 0857 GMT (1657 HKT) Ziona, center, with his has 39 wives, 86 children and 35 grandchildren in rural Baktwang village, India. STORY HIGHLIGHTS One man in India is the patriarch of a family of 160 in rural India Ziona, who only goes by his first name, has 39 wives, 86 children and 35 grandchildren. Ziona's father, Chana, founded the Christian sect in Baktwang that promotes polygamy "I never wanted to get married but that's the path God has chosen for me" Mizoram, India (CNN) -- The world's population hits 7 billion this week, but Ziona, the patriarch of what may be the biggest family in the world, is not bothered. "I don't care about overpopulation in India ... I believe God has chosen us to be like this (have big families). Those who are born into this family don't want to leave this tradition so we just keep growing and growing," he says with a smile. Ziona, who only goes by his f
Post a Comment
Read more