UK, allies seeking Libya regime change

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/171082.html

Britain, US and France have invaded Libya to topple Muammar Qaddafi's regime, says an international relations expert.

In an interview with state-run Russia Today satellite TV, Mark Almond of Bilkent University, Turkey said UK Prime Minister David Cameron, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and US President Barack Obama had made it clear that they wanted to overthrow the North African country's regime.

“They wish to do so by assisting the revolutionary forces against Qaddafi on the ground.”

The bombing campaign unleashed against the Libyan dictator is going ahead with the UK's RAF Tornado jets and Tomahawk missiles attacking targets inside Libya to enforce UN Security Council resolution 1973, which called for a no-fly zone over Libya and the defense of the Libyan civilians.

UK Defense Secretary Liam Fox told state-run BBC on Sunday that the Libyan dictator himself was a legitimate target for allied forces.

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates immediately slapped down Fox's comments, telling reporters on a flight to Russia that it would be "unwise" to have coalition forces try to kill Qaddafi.

Amid dwindling support for the West's military intervention in Libya, Britain's defense chief said he hoped the command of the military operation in Libya would be taken over by NATO “within the next few days.”

When asked about the possibility of targeting Qaddafi, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said, "I'm not going to speculate on the targets... that depends on the circumstances at the time.”

He had previously insisted that the UN Security Council resolution “is not about regime change," saying that while Britain wanted to see Qaddafi leave power, "what we will do militarily is to enforce the United Nations resolution".