Libya could descend into civil war unless Muammar Gaddafi quits, the United States said on Tuesday, its demand for his departure intensifying pressure on the longtime leader after news of Western military preparations.
But Gaddafi remained defiant, dispatching forces to a western border area amid fears that the most violent Arab revolt may grow bloodier and spark a humanitarian crisis.
His son, Saif al-Islam, warned the West against launching any military action to topple Gaddafi, and said the veteran ruler would not step down or go into exile.
"Using force against Libya is not acceptable. There's no reason, but if they want ... we are ready, we are not afraid," he told Sky television, adding: "We live here, we die here."
In Moscow, a Kremlin source suggested Gaddafi, whose authority has unraveled in much of the vast desert country, should step down, calling him a "living political corpse."
In prepared testimony to lawmakers in Washington, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said: "Libya could become a peaceful democracy or it could face protracted civil war."
The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, said Washington would apply pressure on Gaddafi until he bows out, working to stabilize oil prices and avert a humanitarian crisis.
If even the Russians are blunt about hanging you out to dry in public, then you don't have a friend in the world. The problem is we're not exactly in any position to go in there and get the guy, either. The question of course is how to get rid of the guy without, you know, making things far, far worse. Last time an American President faced this question, we chose the "far, far, far worse" option.
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