If US killed Osama bin Laden, ask Libyans, why not assassinate Qaddafi?
| Dehiba, Tunisia; and Nalut, Libya
Libyan refugees are calling on the West to assassinate their mercurial leader to save Libyan lives, just as the US has now succeeded in killing Osama bin Laden.
NATO said as recently as Sunday that it does not target individuals and therefore killing Col. Muammar Qaddafi is not its mission.
Yet two airstrikes within 48 hours have come close to Colonel Qaddafi 鈥� the second overnight on Saturday reportedly killed one of Qaddafi鈥檚 least known sons, Saif al-Arab, while the Libyan leader was visiting his house, prompting charges from Tripoli that 鈥渓eaked鈥� intelligence was being used to kill the 鈥淏rother Leader.鈥�
Libya's rebel government called for Qaddafi to meet the same end as Bin Laden, killed Sunday nearly a decade after masterminding the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. "We are very happy and we are waiting for the next step. We want the Americans to do the same to Qaddafi," said rebel military spokesman Col. Ahmed Bani.
Libyan refugees in this small camp in southern Tunisia say such a result could not come soon enough. They argue that the death of Qaddafi would save lives by removing a despised regime, ending Libya鈥檚 civil war, and enabling completion of Libya鈥檚 pro-democracy revolution.
鈥淎merica must do something to kill this man, because he is killing all the people of Libya,鈥� says Souad, a Libyan housewife in conservative clothing, speaking before news broke of the Al Qaeda leader鈥檚 death at the hands of a US Navy Seal team in Pakistan.
鈥淎ll the people here are tired of Qaddafi,鈥� says Souad, standing among a group of like-minded women in this camp of 1,000 refugees run by the United Arab Emirates. 鈥淲hen will Qaddafi die? Why don鈥檛 the Americans kill him; you must kill him.鈥�
鈥淜ill, kill Qaddafi!鈥� adds Samira, another Libyan woman with a large ring and a head covering.
鈥淟ibyans are afraid of him 鈥� why?鈥� asks Souad. 鈥淨addafi wants to kill all Libyans.鈥�
Interpreting UN Resolution 1973
UN Security Council Resolution 1973 authorizes 鈥渁ll necessary measures鈥� to protect civilians. But what military operations that entails has been open to interpretation, with senior American, British, and French officials suggesting it could include going after Qaddafi, who sits at the top of Libya鈥檚 command and control structure.
Sen. John McCain (R) of Arizona, the top Republican on the US Senate Armed Services Committee, said Sunday that the attack that killed Qaddafi鈥檚 son was 鈥渙bviously an attempt to remove Qaddafi鈥檚 command and control.鈥�
鈥淚 think that if you view 鈥� Qaddafi himself as part of the command and control, I think you could argue that if he was in one of those places, then it would be part of it,鈥� Mr. McCain told CBS鈥檚 Face the Nation. 鈥淎nd if he is killed or injured because of that, that鈥檚 fine.鈥�
But NATO officers expressed a different perspective over the weekend.
鈥淎ll NATO鈥檚 targets are military in nature and have been clearly linked to the Qaddafi regime鈥檚 systematic attacks on the Libyan population and populated areas,鈥� said NATO mission commander Lt. Gen. Charles Bouchard on Sunday. 鈥淲e do not target individuals.鈥�
Russia, Vatican uneasy with NATO bombings
Some nations such as Russia 鈥� which voted for the original resolution on March 17 鈥� have been uneasy with what they see as an overly robust interpretation of Resolution 1973.
The Vatican has been especially vocal. 鈥淣o matter how accurate they are, bombs kill civilians. They are immoral,鈥� said Monsignor Giovanni Innocenzo Martinelli, the Apostolic Vicar of Tripoli, on Saturday, according to a Vatican news agency.
Regarding the numerous airstrikes on Qaddafi鈥檚 Bab al-Azizia compound in the Libyan capital, he 鈥渨ondered if it was in fact moral to kill a head of state. What right do we have to do so?鈥�
What's the moral decision?
Libyans in this camp and inside Libya itself 鈥� who have watched their rebel enclave in the western mountains fight and suffer casualties against forces loyal to Qaddafi for 2-1/2 months 鈥� assert that the moral step in fact is to remove Qaddafi by assassination.
Qaddafi has vowed to cling to power to the 鈥渓ast drop鈥� of his blood, and said that he will hunt 鈥渢errorists鈥� and 鈥済reasy rats鈥� besieging his regime down every alley. His forces have targeted civilians repeatedly across the country since mid-February, from Zawiyah to Misurata to Zintan.
鈥淣obody believes until now that Qaddafi is not gone,鈥� says a male nurse in Nalut, 20 miles inside the Libyan border, at the western end of the predominantly Berber rebel enclave that has opposed Qaddafi鈥檚 rule since mid-February.
鈥淯ntil Qaddafi completely steps down or is killed can [Libyans] trust, and tell you what is in their hearts,鈥� he says.
