Hillary: Qaddafi May Want Exit Plan

Written by FrumForum News on Wednesday March 23, 2011

ABC News reports:

People close to Libya's embattled leader Moammar Gadhafi are reaching out to allies around the world exploring their "options," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told ABC News' Diane Sawyer today, and the U.S. government has gotten unconfirmed reports that at least one of Gadhafi's sons has been killed.

"We've heard about other people close to him reaching out to people that they know around the world -- Africa, the Middle East, Europe, North America, beyond -- saying what do we do? How do we get out of this? What happens next?" Clinton said in an exclusive interview. "I'm not aware that he personally has reached out, but I do know that people allegedly on his behalf have been reaching out."

"Some of it is theater. Some of it is, you know, kind of, shall we say game playing, to try to do one message to one group, another message to somebody else," she added. "A lot of it is just the way he behaves. It's somewhat unpredictable. But some of it, we think, is exploring. You know, what are my options, where could I go, what could I do. And we would encourage that."

Clinton said she's also heard reports that one of Gadhafi's sons may have been killed in the air strikes. But she added that the "evidence is not sufficient" to confirm.

As coalition airstrikes attacked Gadhafi's military assets for the fourth day in a row, Clinton expressed optimism about an early handover, saying the United States would transfer leadership to another country within days. She downplayed concerns about a fracture in the coalition.

"It will be days. Whether it's by Saturday or not depends on the evaluation made by our military commanders along with our allies and partners," she said.

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