UK army chief: Gaddafi not target

MPs are to debate the UK's involvement in military action in Libya later on Monday Defence Secretary Liam Fox has said making Col Gaddafi a target during raids by allied forces could "potentially be a possibility". The UN resolution allows "all necessary measures" to protect Libyan civilians, while ruling out a foreign occupation. Dr Fox told BBC Radio 5 live targeting Col Gaddafi himself was possible, if civilian deaths could be avoided. But US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said he thought targeting Col Gaddafi was "unwise". Dr Fox was asked whether Col Gaddafi was a legitimate target during an interview on BBC Radio 5 live's Pienaar's Politics show. He replied: "Well, that would potentially be a possibility but you mention immediately one of the problems we would have, which is that you would have to take into account any civilian casualties that might result from that. "And at all times we are very careful to avoid that for its humanitarian reasons, but also for the propaganda reasons that it would provide for the regime itself, I'm not at all surprised that they're talking about civilian casualties, I would be very surprised if they weren't." Asked for a response to the comments, Mr Gates said expanding the goal of protecting civilians could divide what he described as a "very diverse coalition". "The one thing that there is common agreement on are the terms set forth in the Security Council resolution. "If we start adding additional objectives then I think we create a problem in that respect. "I also think it is unwise to set as specific goals things that you may or may not be able to achieve," he said. The UK Foreign Office responded: "For the no-fly zone to be enforced safely, it is necessary to carry out carefully targeted operations against Libyan air defence capabilities. "All missions are meticulously planned to ensure every care is taken to avoid civilian casualties. We will continue to work with our Arab partners to enforce the resolution for the good of the Libyan people." MPs are to debate the UK's involvement in military action in Libya later, culminating in a vote in the Commons. The debate - in which Mr Cameron will update MPs on the state of military operations - is expected to begin at about 1530 GMT and continue into the evening. UK forces have taken part in a second night of missile strikes against Libya. Tomahawk missiles were launched from a British submarine in the Mediterranean, but RAF Tornado bombers aborted their mission because civilians were in the area of their target. The UK is part of an international coalition, including the US and France, trying to protect civilians from attacks by Col Gaddafi's forces.This article is from the BBC News website. � British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

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