Gadhafi calls Obama ‘my son’ in letter

TRIPOLI, Libya—Before his forces came under attack on Saturday, Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi issued letters warning US President Barack Obama and other Western leaders not to use military might against him.

The tone of the letters—one addressed to Obama and a second to President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain and Secretary General Ban Ki-moon of the United Nations—suggested that Gadhafi was leaving himself little room to back down.

“Libya is not yours. Libya is for all Libyans,” Gadhafi wrote in a letter that was read to the news media by a spokesperson.

“This is injustice, it is clear aggression, and it is uncalculated risk for its consequences on the Mediterranean and Europe. You will regret it if you take a step toward intervening in our internal affairs,” he added.

Gadhafi addressed Obama as “my son” in a letter that was jarring for its familiarity.

“I have said to you before that even if Libya and the United States enter into war, God forbid, you will always remain my son, and I have all the love for you as a son, and I do not want your image to change with me,” the Libyan dictator wrote.

“We are confronting al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, nothing more. What would you do if you found them controlling American cities with the power of weapons? Tell me how would you behave, so that I could follow your example?” he asked. New York Times News Service