Obama Threatens to Arm Rebels if Gadhafi Doesn’t Step Down

Tripoli: After the rebel forces successfully stopped Moammar Gadhafi’s advance in Sirte, and with their continuing progress in Misrata, U.S. President Barack Obama raised the possibility of arming the Libyan rebels in the event that the ongoing military operations do not adequately weaken the Libyan regime. Obama said that he was convinced that Gadhafi would “ultimately step down.”

In an interview with NBC, Obama said the following: “…this is now a NATO and international mission. Our role is to provide support, intelligence, jamming capabilities, refueling capabilities... But Gadhafi’s been greatly weakened.”

He continued: “In addition to maintaining a no-fly zone and protecting civilian populations, we also have political tools, diplomatic tools, sanctions, freezing his assets, all of which continue to tighten the noose ... And so our expectation is that as we continue to apply steady pressure, not only militarily but also through these other means, that Gadhafi will ultimately step down.”

He did not rule out the possibility of the United States arming the Libyan rebels, but at the same time pointed out that he is currently prepared to assess the balance of power between the rebels and Gadhafi’s forces.

Responding to the question concerning the possibility of supplying arms to the Libyan rebels, Obama answered: “I'm not ruling it out. But I'm also not ruling it in. We're still making an assessment partly about what Gadhafi’s forces are going to be doing. Keep in mind, we’ve been at this now for nine days.” He said that if Gadhafi’s forces are sufficiently degraded, it may not be necessary to arm opposition groups. “But we're not taking anything off the table at this point,” he added.

The president held the interviews with three television stations, NBC, CBS, and ABC, a day after his Libyan speech and justified his decision to intervene in the country while he stressed that the intervention “stopped a massacre.”

At the same time, he warned about directly intervening in Libya to overthrow Gadhafi and cited the significant “mistake” concerning the casualties and budget issues caused by the 2003 invasion of Iraq, which toppled Saddam Hussein.

In Paris, Foreign Minister Alain Juppé said that his country was ready to discuss the question of arming the Libyan opposition along with its partners in the coalition, despite the fact that it is not part of the U.N. mandate.

Juppé made the following in remarks after a London meeting: "I remind you it is not part of the U.N. resolution, which France sticks to, but we are ready to discuss it with our partners."

When asked if it was necessary to exile Gadhafi, Juppé did not directly answer the question but said that there’s no future for Gadhafi in the country. He added: “It’s up to the Libyans to get rid of him... It’s the Libyans who will choose their future, their political regime, and certainly not the international coalition... The Security Council resolutions don’t ask Gadhafi to be eliminated.”

Tactical Withdrawal

In the meantime, Gadhafi continued to bomb Misrata, a city east of Tripoli, while the spokesman for the National Libyan Council, Imam Bugaighis described the retreat of the rebels in the past few hours as a “tactical withdrawal” meant to remove their forces from the grip of Gadhafi’s militias, soldiers, and mercenaries.

Yesterday the rebels retreated from Bin Jawad in central Libya and east of Ras Lanuf, which is inthe region of Bin Jawad, a scene of hit-and-run battles between the rebels and Gadh afi’s brigades who forced the retreat.

After the rebels succeeded in reaching within 60 km of Sirte, Gadhafi’s hometown, they were forced to retreat tens of kilometers under the fire of Gadhafi’s brigades, which were backed with heavy weaponry and mortars.

Reuters reported that the international coalition forces had not fired any rockets on the roads for more than 24 hours and stressed that without air support there is no possibility for the rebels, who face Gadhafi’s heavily armed forced, well-equipped in this type of armament.

The spokeswoman for the National Libyan Council described the situation as “very dramatic” and urged the international community and the coalition forces to move against Gadhafi’s forces, in order to protect civilians, as stipulated in U.N. Security Council Resolution 1973.

Meanwhile, rebel sources said that Gadhafi’s forces continue to bomb Al-Zintan in western Libya and attempt to enter the city from the east as they advanced towards Misrata, whose occupants fear a massacre.

It is worth mentioning that the rebels, heavily relying on NATO-led international air strikes, have achieved rapid progress, advancing towards the west from Benghazi during the past few days. The rebels took control of a number of important communities and oil installations in Ras Lanuf, Brega, Alaqila and Ben Jawad. The rebels succeeded in reaching An Nawfaliyah, about 120 km from Gadhafi’s hometown of Sirte, but were forced to retreat to Ben Jawad, located 30 km to the east.

Missiles of the “Alliance”

Additionally, the Pentagon announced that coalition forces launched an offensive Tuesday in which some 22 Tomahawk missiles targeted the Gadhafi forces. It said in a statement concerning the overall mission activities that “coalition forces have launched 22 Tomahawks and flown 115 strike sorties in the past 24 hours.”

It is noteworthy that several powerful explosions rocked Tripoli Tuesday near Bab al ‘Aziziyah, Gadhafi’s residence, as well as other areas, including Tajoura and areas around military targets under strict guard. At the same time, France and the United States sent envoys to Benghazi.

The French Foreign Minister Alain Juppé said in London that the choice of targets in Libya will not be the responsibility of the Contact Group but will be NATO’s responsibility, and he added that there will be a clear division of labor between the politicians and the military. It is noteworthy that this is due to the transition of air operations in Libya, which the United States initially assumed in coordination with NATO Thursday morning.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee Carl Levin said he “may seek formal congressional approval for U.S. military action in support of NATO strikes in Libya.”

Levin pointed out that he will soon talk to the Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid about this issue. Levin said it would be useful and important to demonstrate public support for this effort, while he pointed out that Obama holds no objections regarding the measure, but in fact welcomes it.

These developments come amid a bitter debate in Congress regarding the legitimacy of Obama’s decision to involve the United States in the military campaign against Libya in conjunction with U.N. Security Council Resolution 1973.

Millions of Dollars

The Pentagon announced that “the United States has spent $550 million so far on military operations in Libya, but expects costs to stabilize at $40 million per month once U.S. forces are reduced and NATO takes over greater control.” The Pentagon said that about 60 percent of the money was spent on missiles and bombs used in Libya, where the forces loyal to Gadhafi have been fighting the armed opponents who seek to overthrow the Libyan leader.The rest of the money was spent on the transfer of troops to the region as well as on operations.

The cost of military operations in Libya appears small in comparison to the cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Nevertheless, it raises concerns about the total defense spending at a time when the federal budget deficit is expected to reach $1.4 trillion in the current fiscal year, which ends September 13.

Arab Participation

For his part, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani said Tuesday that “it is necessary for Arab states to take part.”

The American radio station SAWA reported the statements of Qatar’s prime minister, statements he made in a London news conference attended by roughly 40 countries and organizations: “I agree with you [that] Arab involvement is not so big or not so concrete... I hope it will increase.”

“I hope that the [Arab] role is increasing,” added the Prime Minister, also noting that the conflict in Libya is an “Arab problem.”

Although the Arab League endorsed the U.N. resolution authorizing military intervention in the country, the State of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates were the only two Arab nations participating in operations in Libya.It is also noteworthy that seven countries out of the 24 members of the Arab League sent a representative to the London conference. Participants agreed that Qatar should host the first meeting of the Contact Group, which was officially established to assume political leadership in the operations in Libya.

Sheikh Hamad urged Gadhafi Tuesday to step down and stop the bloodshed. He added that he may meet with Gadhafi within the next few days to negotiate the exit.

Sheikh Hamad said in a news conference: “We urge Gaddafi and his people to leave. I think this is the only solution to sort this problem as soon as possible. Right now we don’t see any indication of that. But this hope which we offer now might not be on the table after a few days. I'm not warning anybody here, but I am trying to stop the bloodshed as soon as possible.”

On the other hand, in a letter to British Foreign Secretary William Hague, the chairman of the African Union Commission, Jean Ping, appealed for the support of the Contact Group regarding the Libyan road map prepared by the African Union in order to find a solution to the crisis in the country. Ping did not participate in the meeting of the Contact Group, which was held Tuesday in London, nor did he participate in the earlier meeting on Libya held in Paris.

Noureddine Mezni, the spokesman for the chairman of the African Union Commission, highlighted the “the consensus on the five points that make up the roadmap" reached during an Arab Union meeting that took place in Addis Ababa on March 25.These include protection of civilians, cessation of hostilities, the need for humanitarian assistance to affected populations "both Libyan and foreign migrant workers, particularly those from Africa," and the importance of "political dialogue between the Libyan parties."

According to Ping, the African road map will also provide for “inclusive transition period that will lead to the elections of democratic institutions.”