Libyan command is 'legitimate target', says Liam Fox

Liam Fox is in America to meet US defence secretary Robert Gates
12 April 2012

The command and control of Libyan regime forces are a legitimate target for Nato air strikes, Defence Secretary Liam Fox insisted, amid claims of a bid to assassinate Muammar Gaddafi.

A building in the dictator's compound was hit on Monday in what the regime said was a failed attempt on the Libyan leader's life and which Russian president Vladimir Putin said was part of an execution plan.

US defence secretary Robert Gates - speaking last night after talks with Dr Fox at the Pentagon - insisted that the United Nations-backed coalition was "not targeting him (Gaddafi) specifically".

But Dr Fox made clear that all regime command and control "mechanisms" were targets and that the strikes were a clear message to Gaddafi that he could not wage the campaign "at arm's length".

The United Nations Security Council approved the use of "all necessary measures" to protect civilians short of an occupation force in a very open-ended resolution.

David Cameron sparked concern about mission creep when he made a joint declaration with his US and French counterparts that the mission would continue until Gaddafi was gone.

Dr Fox raised fresh questions about targeting when he said those operating command facilities should "recognise the risks they would have if they were there during Nato strikes".

Shadow defence secretary Jim Murphy said the comments were "inflammatory" and demanded clarification as to whether it meant Gaddafi was being targeted for assassination.

"People ask...have we taken a side? And the answer is yes, we have taken the side of the civilian population," Dr Fox told reporters after his talks at the Pentagon.

"That is what the United Nations Security Council resolution has asked us to do."

For as long as the regime attacked civilians "we will continue to regard all their command and control mechanisms as legitimate targets", he said.

Dr Fox told BBC2's Newsnight said that as well as destroying the facilities themselves, the strikes on the compound were designed to "send a clear message to Colonel Gaddafi" that the conflict was not being carried out "at arm's length".

He said: "There has been some temptation for him to think it is happening in Misrata, it is happening in Ajdabiya, it is happening in Brega, but not close to him."

Nato had "very clear rules about targeting" which would be obeyed, Dr Fox added.

"If it wasn't Gaddafi who's to say it wouldn't be someone else in the regime?" he said.

Forces loyal to Gaddafi pulled out of the besieged rebel-held town of Misrata at the weekend, prompting Dr Fox to say the regime was "on the back foot".

However, the port yesterday came under another sustained barrage of rockets and mortars which has killed dozens more as the conflict continues.

The head of the UK's armed forces, General Sir David Richards, also took part in the US talks along with his opposite number Admiral Mike Mullen.

It was Admiral Mullen who warned at the weekend that the United Nations-backed action to end the brutal repression of the rebellion was "moving towards a stalemate".

America has moved to a back-seat role in the action although within recent days it has deployed unmanned armed drones as part of the air strike capability.

Dr Fox told reporters: "We have seen some momentum gained in the last few days. We are very grateful to the United States for making the armed Predators available.

"We have seen some progress made in Misrata and it is very clear that the regime is on the back foot. The sooner that Colonel Gaddafi recognises that the game is up - either today or shortly - the better."

Updating the Cabinet yesterday after the long Easter break, Foreign Secretary Mr Hague insisted that there were grounds for optimism but that the UK needed to "prepare for the long haul".

Addressing the Commons afterwards, Mr Hague insisted the conflict had "not yet settled into what one would call a long-term stalemate".

The resolve of the coalition was "undiminished" and had been strengthened by the progress achieved and the strategy was to "intensify the diplomatic, economic and military pressure".

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