THE GUARDIAN: Warning to world of 'another Vietnam' if Libya is invaded masks concessions to opponents shaped by son Saif al-IslamColonel Muammar Gaddafi has offered an amnesty for rebels who hand back weapons, promising they would be "forgiven and not pursued" even as he warned that his country would be turned into "another Vietnam" if foreign countries intervened.
In a three-hour speech to supporters and international journalists in Tripoli, Gaddafi offered a handful of concessions aimed at those supporting the opposition forces who control more than half the country.
Faced with the threat of armed intervention by the west, he said: "We will enter a bloody war and thousands and thousands of Libyans will die if the United States enters or Nato enters."
Although the defiance had been anticipated, what was surprising was a series of concessions designed to divert support for the escalating uprising and head off the growing threat of military intervention.
Conceding his almost complete isolation, Gaddafi admitted that the world appeared to be against Libya, including India, China and parts of Latin America as well as the US and Europe.
The speech, delivered on Wednesdayas Libyan forces attacked opposition positions in the east of the country, bore all the hallmarks of being shaped by his son Saif al-Islam, who has argued in the past for some of the concessions on offer.
Despite his often fiery rhetoric, Gaddafi delivered the speech calmly, in contrast to fist-waving previous addresses in which he threatened to hunt down opponents like rats.
He promised he would not stand in the way of privately-owned media or a constitution for the country – long espoused by Saif – if that is what people wanted. He also offered an inquiry into violence on both sides. >>> Peter Beaumont in Tripoli | Wednesday, March 02, 2011
