Sen. Lindsey Graham: NATO and administration should bomb Tripoli.

WHEN IS THE LAST TIME A LEADER IN WASHINGTON THREW DOWN LIKE THIS? MAYBE FDR? THERE'S SOMETHING QUITE REFRESHING ABOUT IT.

Verne Strickland Blogmaster

April 24, 2011

Posted by Jake Sherman 

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Sunday NATO and the administration should wage an all-out bombing campaign on Tripoli so Col. Muammar Qadhafi 's inner circle "wake up every day wondering, ‘Will this be my last?'"

"My recommendation to NATO and to the administration is to cut the head of the snake off, go to Tripoli, start bombing Qadhafi’s inner circle, their compounds their military headquarters in Tripoli," Graham said on CNN's "State of the Union."

"The way to get Qadhafi to leave is to have his inner circle break and turn on him, and that’s going to take a sustained effort through an air campaign."

The comments come amid a growing concern in Washington that there's a military stalemate in Libya in the fighting between forces loyal to Qadhafi and rebels.

Graham said he does not believe the United States should be hamstrung by a United Nations mandate that does not call for taking Qadhafi out, signaling that he believes the U.S. campaign should be aimed on removing the Libyan leader.

He also rejected suggestions from host Candy Crowley that there would a backlash to the United States pushing Qadhafi out of power.

"You cannot protect the Libyan people if Qadhafi stays. You cannot protect our vital national security interests if Qadhafi stays," the senator said.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/politicolive/0411/Graham_Bomb_Tripoli.html