basically side with the rebels and say, we ve got to really go in there and help them. but here s lindsey graham, his longtime ally from south carolina, on libya. let s listen to lindsey graham. it is leading to a military stalemate. right now, there s just not enough moment by the rebels, even if they re better armed, to break through to tripoli. there s not deep support for gadhafi. so my recommendation to nato and the administration is to cut the head of the snake off. go to tripoli, start bombing gadhafi s inner circle, their compounds, their military headquarters in tripoli. do we have the mandate within nato or, rather, within the u.n. security council, to support that kind of mission? to go in and topple this government? reporter: no. the mandate is simply to protect the libyan people and not to engage in regime change. the mandate would have to change. but many people say the policy is effectively to topple the regime.
as we mentioned nato air strikes hit the compound of libyan leader moammar gadhafi. gadhafi survived, but the latest attack raises the question, is nato trying to kill gadhafi? the obama administration said today, it is not u.s. or coalition policy to assassinate gadhafi to bring about regime change, but some u.s. lawmakers are coming pretty close to advocating just that. here is republican senator lindsey graham. my recommendation to nato and the administration is to cut the head of the snake off. go to tripoli and start bombing gadhafi s inner circle, and their compounds and their military headquarters in tripoli. joining us now with his take on the delicate issue and others, former nato supreme allied commander george jawin.
that country are fueling debate in washington. one senator says it s time to step up the pressure on moammar gadhafi. my recommendation to nato and the administration is to cut the head of the snake off. go to tripoli, start bombing gadhafi s inner circle, their compounds, their military headquarters in tripoli. a fellow republican, john mccain, agrees with the call for intensified air strikes. in fact, he s urging president obama to step up u.s. involvement in nato air strikes. also this morning, hundreds of terror suspects are roaming free after a daring prison break in southern afghanistan. the taliban says it spent months digging a 1,000-foot long tunnel to the president. at least 400 prisoners escaped and only a handful have since been recaptured. less than three years ago, as many as 1,000 prisoners escaped from this same prison. also this morning, chilling new insights into guantanamo bay
these sectarian violence issues that they ve been dealing with for years. syria s also great buddies with iran. so if syria were to go down it would throw into question iran s closest buddy and would hurt iran. lastly, syria also sponsors hezbollah and hamas. the u.s. views them as two terrorist groups. so what happens in syria is so key to the u.s. security, as well as its energy security. zane injuin vergee live in l thanks. now let s turn our attention to libya. rebel chops have chased moammar gadhafi s troops from that city. a doctor says retreated forces opened fire and killed at least 16 civilians. one u.s. senator says it s time to step up the pressure on moammar gadhafi. my recommendation to nato and the administration is to cut the head of the snake off. go to tripoli. start bombing gadhafi s inner
news. a closer look at the massive damage done to moammar gadhafi s compound in tripoli. three buildings in the complex suffered heavy damage, four people were reportedly injured. nato war planes bombed it this morning. it is not clear where the libyan dictator was, however, during the attack. over the weekend, gadhafi forces stepped up their assault on rebel troops in misrata. you ll know there s been heavy fighting there. doctors say 32 people were killed, dozens more wounded over two days of shelling. back home, senator lindsay graham of south carolina is calling on the obama administration to specifically target gadhafi and finish the job. my recommendation to nato and the administration is to cut the head of the snake off. go to tripoli, start bombing gadhafi s inner circle, their compounds, their military headquarters in tripoli. senators john mccain and joe lieberman appeared on cnn s state of the union and called on the white house to step up