http://www.smh.com.au/world/gaddafi-...626-1glvm.html
Gaddafi is a target despite assurances, admits US admiral
Molly Peterson
June 27, 2011
WASHINGTON: The US admiral in charge of the Allied Joint Force command in Naples has told a Republican congressman that NATO forces are trying to kill the Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi.
Admiral Samuel Locklear III told the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee member Mike Turner last month that coalition forces are actively targeting Colonel Gaddafi, despite the assurances of the US President, Barack Obama, that regime change is not the goal of the United Nations-mandated military mission.
The report of Admiral Locklear's comments appeared in the journal Foreign Policy, citing Mr Turner.
The Ohio Republican congressman, who voted against authorising the Libyan operation in Congress on Friday, said the admiral also told him that ground troops may be needed in Libya after Colonel Gaddafi is ousted, the magazine reported.
According to the magazine, Mr Turner said: ''The UN authorisation had three components: blockade, no-fly zone, and civil protection. And Admiral Locklear explained that the scope of civil protection was being interpreted to permit the removal of the chain of command of Gaddafi's military, which includes Gaddafi.''
In the briefing he gave to Mr Turner, Admiral Locklear later maintained that the mission did not involve regime change, to which Mr Turner said: ''If you remove Gaddafi it will affect regime change.'' Foreign Policy reported Mr Turner as saying ''[Locklear] did not have an answer to that''.
A public affairs officer for Admiral Locklear's command in Naples said that the Foreign Policy ''story does not accurately reflect Admiral Locklear's views on either ground troops or the targeting of any individual, including Colonel Gaddafi. The admiral clearly understands and has repeatedly emphasised the stated objectives for the military mission.''
However, the journal reports that Admiral Locklear publicly stated on May 30 in Varna, Bulgaria, that a ''small force'' could be necessary following the fall of Gaddafi's regime.
On Friday, the House rejected a resolution on a 295-123 vote that would have authorised continued US support for NATO bombardment of Colonel Gaddafi's forces.
However, a bill to remove funding for the mission failed on a 238-180 vote.
''The President hasn't come to Congress and said any of this and yet Admiral Locklear is pursuing the targeting of Gaddafi's regime, Gaddafi himself and contemplating ground troops following Gaddafi's removal,'' Mr Turner told Foreign Policy. ''They're not being straightforward with Congress … It's outrageous.''
The House leader, John Boehner, has accused Mr Obama of exceeding his authority under the War Powers Act, which requires a vote of Congress to endorse hostilities past 90 days.
The White House replied that such a vote was not required as the US was playing only a supporting role in the Libyan conflict.
A statement from the White House last week said: ''US operations do not involve sustained fighting or active exchanges of fire with hostile forces, nor do they involve US ground troops.''
The overwhelming majority of NATO bombing missions in Libya have been conducted by French and British war planes.
A NATO official said ''without wishing to engage on the specifics'' of the Foreign Policy article, ''NATO's position has been clear since the beginning of the Libyan operation: we do not target individuals and we do not have troops on the ground''.
''NATO's mission is to use all necessary means to prevent attacks and the threat of attack against civilians and civilian-populated centres, as the UN mandated,'' the official said.
Bloomberg
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