Libya
It seemed like an obvious statement, but not the kind of thing on is supposed to say out loud.
Last month, according to a Republican Congressman, the top US Admiral at NATO's Allied Joint Force command told him that coalition forces bombing Muammar Qaddafi's forces in Libya are specifically targetting the embattled leader.
Admiral Samuel Locklear's comments are in stark contrast to those of US President Barack Obama, who has repeatedly said that regime change is not the goal of the mission in Libya, and that, of course, means killing Colonel Qaddafi is not either.
Indeed, the aim of UN resolution 1973, which authorised the bombing campaign, is to protect Libyan civilians and nothing more. It explicitly states that ground troops are not allowed.
Canadian Lieutenant General Charles Bouchard, who is commanding the NATO mission against Libya, is the man in charge of those bombing raids; the man picking the targets.
But what to do about Muammar Qaddafi? It has been three-and-a-half months since the UN resolution was passed. Colonel Qaddafi is battered but still firmly entrenched in the country, and Libyan civilians would still be in great danger if and when the coalition pulls back.
Listen to host, Jim Brown, discuss the current situation in Libya on CBC Radio's The Sunday Edition with:
Paul Rogers, ORG's Global Security Consultant and a Professor in the Department of Peace Studies at Bradford University in northern England.
Janice Gross Stein, Director of the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto.
Source: http://www.cbc.ca/thesundayedition/shows/2011/07/03/bar-history---atvs---singer-scientists/