Gaddafi must be made to go

Gaddafi must be made to go
From: The Australian
April 18, 2011 12:00AM

NATO should emulate Ronald Reagan's determination

If any doubt remained about the monstrous nature of Muammar Gaddafi's regime and why NATO must expedite his departure, reports of anti-personnel cluster bombs fired into residential areas in Misratah put an end to it. Correctly, Human Rights Watch, whose researchers have ascertained use of the bombs, has said few weapons are more lethal or indiscriminate in killing and maiming civilians. Munitions experts equate them to the evil of mustard gas and dum-dum bullets. The bombs scatter hundreds of smaller devices. Those that fail to explode immediately pose deadly hazards for years. Handicap International estimates 98 per cent of the bombs' victims are civilians, 28 per cent of them children.

Gaddafi's spokesman denied they were being used. But the regime's spin doctors have no credibility and as NATO considers its next moves the urgency of forcing Gaddafi out cannot be overstated. No solution will work as long as the dictator remains in place. Regime change may not have been part of the UN's Libya resolution, but it is a prerequisite for progress.

Last week's Doha meeting of Western, Arab and African allies called for Gaddafi to go and raised the prospect of providing seized Libyan funds to the rebels. There must be no delay in acting on this and in getting the US to participate more fully in the NATO offensive so concerted strikes can be launched to enforce the no-fly zone and also to target Gaddafi's ground installations. Only six of NATO's 28 members have joined the offensive. That is unfortunate, sending the wrong signals to the dictator. Twenty-five years ago Ronald Reagan bombed Gaddafi's Tripoli residence as swift retaliation for the attack by Libyan agents on US soldiers in a Berlin discotheque. Similar determination is needed now. Failure to dislodge Gaddafi would be disastrous, as would a protracted stalemate in which he was able to cling to power. Despots everywhere would take heart. The Arab Spring would be snuffed out.

The Obama administration is seeking possible asylum for Gaddafi in a country that has not signed the International Criminal Court protocols requiring them to hand over accused war criminals. That would be regrettable. After decades of atrocities, he is also likely to face indictment over the Lockerbie bombing. If ever a tyrant deserved his day in court before the ICC it is Gaddafi.