Pentagon Denies 'Targeting' Qaddafi

Politico reports:

U.S. airstrikes in Libya are not targeting Col. Muammar Qadhafi, the Pentagon said Sunday.

Vice Adm. Bill Gortney, director of the Joint Staff, said that U.S. forces are not targeting Qadhafi’s residence, but he could not rule out that he might be the victim of accidental or coincidental airstrikes.

“At this particular point, I can guarantee that he’s not on a targeting list,” Gortney said. “If he happens to be in a place – if he’s inspecting a surface-to-air missile site, [and] we don’t have any idea that he’s there or not – then, yeah.”

Speaking from an unspecified U.S. military aircraft, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the coalition would be unwise to target the longtime dictator. “It is unwise to set as specific goals things that you may or may not be able to achieve,” he was quoted as saying.

Gortney said that the no-fly zone encompassing about one third of Libya is effectively in place, and is currently being enforced by the United States, Britain, and France.

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