by Sunday, President Barack Obama released a statement reminding Col. Moammar Gadhafi that it’s time to get off the stage. He wrote that the dictator needs to “relinquish power once and for all.” It continued with, “Tonight, the momentum against the Gadhafi regime has reached a tipping point. Tripoli is slipping from the grasp of a tyrant. The Gadhafi regime is showing signs of collapsing. The people of Libya are showing that the universal pursuit of dignity and freedom is far stronger than the iron fist of a dictator.”
Relaxing on Vacation
Since issuing the statement, Obama has been relaxing on Martha’s Vineyard, while the White House is keeping track of developments in Libya. The president might be vacationing, but he’s made sure to keep his counterterrorism advisers on high alert, holding a call Sunday evening with senior members of his team, according to Josh Earnest, White House deputy press secretary.
Gadhafi’s Response
Interestingly, the Gadhafi spokesman has placed the blame for Libya’s unrest squarely on America and NATO’s shoulders. Spokesman Musa Ibrahim said,
“Every drop of Libyan blood shed by these rebels is the responsibility of the Western world, especially NATO’s countries.
We hold (U.S. President Barack) Obama, (British Prime Minister David) Cameron and (French President Nicolas) Sarkozy morally responsible for every single unnecessary death that takes place in this country.”Rumors have spread that three of Gadhafi’s sons are in rebel hands and that Gadhafi has either fled the country of that he is hiding out in a series of bunkers. A new regime may actually be about to appear in a country held by Gadhafi for over three decades.