OPINION

Clinton Presses African Leaders to Abandon Qaddafi

Townhall Staff
Townhall Staff  |  Jun 13, 2011
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ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton bluntly warned African leaders on Monday that authoritarian governments ruled by aging depots were “no longer acceptable,” saying that those who refused democratic reforms would find themselves “on the wrong side of history.”

She also urged the African Union to end its lingering relations with Libya’s leader, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi. American officials have been deeply frustrated by the union’s efforts to mediate on behalf of Colonel Qaddafi, who for decades lavished support on African leaders — many of them autocratic — and led the union itself two years ago.