Washington: The Obama Administration has said that Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is no longer in a position to credibly lead his nation as he has lost all legitimacy to rule the north African Arab nation.
"He has lost all legitimacy in the eyes of his people, most importantly, and in the eyes of the world community. He is no longer in a position to credibly lead his nation," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters.
"He is in the meantime, inflicting horrific violence on the people he claims to serve and the people he claims love him - which is quite a claim indeed. So I won't put a deadline on it, except to say now would be good," Carney said in response to a question.
"We have worked assiduously behind the scenes to bring about the kind of dramatic objectives in terms of the action at the United Nations and the unilateral sanctions that we've implemented that are putting, we believe, great pressure, and will put great pressure on not just Colonel Gaddafi, but the Libyan regime," he said.
"If you are now a member of the Libyan government, you have to think very, very seriously about whose side you want to be on. Because if you stay with Gaddafi, if you stay with this regime, if you accept and act on orders to murder your own people, you will be held accountable. The action taken by the United Nations to refer this to the ICC is a very dramatic statement about the accountability we expect those perpetrators to be held to," he said.
"We are most interested in the end of his treatment of his people, the end of the violence against the Libyan people. If exile is a quick option to make that happen, we would support that. But he and others will be held accountable for their actions regardless," Carney said.
Without specifying particular individuals or groups that the US is reaching out to through both diplomatic means but through business and NGOs, Carney said the Obama Administration is having those conversations, finding out where these groups stand in terms of the desire for a process that is democratic and inclusive and responsive to the desires and aspirations of the Libyan people.
"But I'm not prepared to identify this group or this individual at this point," he said.
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