http://cptv.vo.llnwd.net/o2/ypmwebcontent/2011/2011_03_21_sg%20110321%20lieberman%20libya.mp3
Senator Joe Lieberman has advocated for a no-fly zone in Libya since the rebel uprising started. Now that one is in place, he says the U.S. needs to stay until leader Moammar Gadhafi is gone.
Lieberman says there's no room for Gadhafi in Libya anymore.
"If all this ends and Gadhafi is still the president of Libya or a part of Libya, this will not be considered a success," he says.
Speaking in downtown Hartford, Lieberman says he thinks the UN-sanctioned no-fly zone has already made an important point to pro-Gadhafi forces.
"Now that we've shown that the world is not just going to stand idly by, their morale will be broken and we're gonna see massive defections that will ultimately lead him to wanna leave the country," he says. "We don't need to kill him in my opinion, I just think we need to get him out of there."
Lieberman says he's not worried the intervention might demonize the U.S. in Libya and says he doesn't expect a repeat of what happened in Iraq after Saddam Hussein was ousted. He thinks this situation is more like the first Gulf War when he says the Arab world pleaded with the U.S. to get Saddam out of Kuwait.
"You always have to make sure we don't go over the line but right now I would guess if you took a public opinion survey in Libya, among the Libyan people, they'd say that they're very grateful that the American military has come to their support," he says.
Lieberman says as long as U.S. forces don't fight for the rebels, their assistance should remain welcome.
He says he'll leave it up to President Obama to signal when U.S. involvement is over in Libya, but hopes it won't be premature.
"There is more work to do and I hope we don't pull totally out of it," he says. "It's very important that this is an allied effort that not only includes Europeans but even more important, Arab militaries with us."
On Sunday, Gadhafi said it would be a "long-drawn war," and promised Libya would quote exterminate every traitor and collaborator with the crusader coalition.
