Gadhafi Vows Victory: 'I Am Here, I Am Here'

Plenty of observers see the Libya conflict in the shorthand of Obama vs. Gadhafi (as much as the US president objects), and the two main players made fresh appeals today:

• Gadhafi: In a 3-minute address on state television, he remained defiant, reports the BBC. "In the short term, we'll beat them, in the long term, we'll beat them," he said in during a visit to a site in Tripoli hit by bombs. "I am here, I am here, I am here." He also called for "all Islamic armies" to join the fight. "We will be victorious in the end."

• Obama: Amid reports of friction about which nation will take the lead once the US steps back, Obama declared in El Salvador that "I have absolutely no doubt that we will be able to transfer the control of this operation to an international coalition." Obama also spoke with Britain's David Cameron and France's Nicolas Sarkozy on the phone aboard Air Force One, notes the New York Times.

Click to read Hillary Clinton's view that Gadhafi may be looking for an exit strategy. (More Moammar Gadhafi stories.)