Gaddafi Claims that Libya is “Ready for Battle”
Added by Annika L. Krugel on March 24, 2011
On the fourth day of the UN-backed military intervention in Libya, TV footage showed Muammar Gaddafi boasting that his country is “ready for battle.”
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Gaddafi was also shown telling supporters outside his Tripoli Bab Al-Aziziyah compound that “We will win this battle,” while Western leaders were planning their next strike.
CNN on Wednesday reported that air strikes had been launched overnight to the east of Tripoli, near the city of Misrata, which reportedly has been besieged by Gadaffi’s forces for weeks.
However, US President Barack Obama, said there had been a “significant reduction” in US air force activity over Libya while the coalition is trying to establish an UN-approved no-fly zone to protect Libyan civilians. Talks between NATO ambassadors had resumed on Tuesday after a failure on Monday to overcome their strong divisions.
Despite Gaddafi’s recent comments, there are reports that the Libyan leader is looking for a way out of the conflict. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told ABC News:”We’ve heard about… people close to him reaching out to people that they know around the world — Africa, the Middle East, Europe, North America, beyond — saying what do we do? How do we get out of this?”
Obama said that Gaddafi may just choose to wait the conflict out, even in the case of a no-fly zone: “But keep in mind that we don’t just have military tools at our disposal in terms of accomplishing Gaddafi’s leaving,” he told CNN.
