US Defence Secretary Robert Gates says Libyan military command centres "wherever we find them" are legitimate targets for US and NATO air attack, suggesting Muammar Gaddafi himself is increasingly in danger.
NATO planes are not targeting Gaddafi specifically but will continue to take aim at his command centres, Gates said. That distinction is exceedingly thin, given Gaddafi is commander-in-chief of government forces using brute force against civilians seeking to overthrow him. On Monday, NATO bombs turned sections of his Tripoli headquarters into smouldering ruins.
A Libyan government spokesman denounced Monday's bombing as a failed assassination attempt.
Gates and British Defence Minister Liam Fox, speaking to reporters at the Pentagon after a meeting that included Admiral Mike Mullen, the top-ranking US military officer, indicated that facilities from which Libyan leaders command their forces will remain at risk.
"We consider them legitimate targets," Gates said. "We are not targeting him specifically, but we do consider command and control targets to be legitimate targets wherever we find them."
Although Gates said such targets have been considered legitimate from the start of the NATO-led air campaign more than a month ago, the initial bombing focus was on Gaddafi's air defences, supply depots and manoeuvering ground forces - particularly those in the east that have clashed repeatedly with rebel forces and those in the western port city of Misrata.
Now NATO is trying to ratchet up pressure on Gaddafi and those in his inner circle by holding at risk his command centres as well as related structures that enable the regime to exercise power. A separate air strike in Tripoli on Monday hit Libyan TV and temporarily knocked it off the air.
This appears to represent an evolution of the air campaign, which is adjusting its targeting priorities as Libyan forces have adapted to weeks of air strikes on ground forces, the imposition of a no-fly zone and persistent rebel assaults in several crucial areas.
Gates said Libyan military command centres in Tripoli and elsewhere are legitimate targets under the UN Security Council resolution that authorised the use of force, short of inserting an occupying ground force, to protect civilians from attacks by the Libyan government.
"Those (command) centres are the ones that are commanding the forces that are committing some of these violations of humanitarians rights, such as in Misrata," he said.
In his remarks, Fox alluded in vague terms to this evolution, saying he, Gates and Mullen had discussed how to "exploit emerging opportunities on the ground" in Libya, mentioning the US decision last week to add armed Predator drone aircraft to the mix of NATO aircraft attacking targets in urban settings.
"There is little doubt across the alliance that this key contribution has proven to be of immense value protecting civilians in Misrata and has helped opposition forces to defend themselves against this brutal regime there," Fox said.
Later he asserted "the regime is on the back foot" and that the sooner Gaddafi "recognises the game is up", the better for all.
