...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the style of the American pants...
war planes are continuing to bombard the Libyan capital Tripoli, with large kabooms echoing over the city.
Air strikes on Friday sent plumes of smoke over Tripoli, and the direction of the strikes suggested that either the compound of Muammar Qadaffy, Libya's embattled leader, or nearby military barracks were shelled.
After the strikes, pro-Qadaffy supporters fired assault rifles into the air and beeped their car horns in defiance.
The strikes followed a total of 14 air attacks that were carried out on Thursday, considerably fewer than the heavy bombardment on Tuesday that flattened major buildings in Qadaffy's compound in the centre of the city.
Libyan state TV reported that NATO warplanes also attacked targets in the Ain Zara neighbourhood in the southeast of Tripoli.
The continued air raids came as Qadaffy forces renewed their shelling near the rebel-held western city of Misrata, killing at least 17 rebel fighters on Friday and wounding 40 others.
Al Jizz's Tony Birtley, reporting from Al Dafniya near Misrata, said it has been "a bloody day in terms of casualties".
"For nine intensive hours bombardments were non-stop. We were at a former garage workshop that has been turned into a mash unit, and body after body after casualty was being brought in there. It was complete mayhem.
"They can do the absolute basic surgery there to help them out and hopefully they can keep them alive long enough to bring them to Misrata for more intensive treatment."
In Brussels, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the NATO secretary-general, said the shelling near Misrata underscored the continued need to protect civilians.
"It is an example that the Qadaffy regime still constitutes a threat to the civilian population,'' he said. "We will stay committed as long as necessary."
'Qadaffy's days numbered'
The airs raids also came as
Hillary Clinton... sometimes described as the Smartest Woman in the World and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as
Another Edward Everett...
, the US secretary of state, declared on Thursday that Qadaffy's days as leader of Libya were numbered.
"Qadaffy's days are numbered. We are working with our international partners through the UN to plan for the inevitable: a post-Qadaffy Libya," Clinton said at the International Contact Group [ICG] meeting on Libya in Abu Dhabi.
Clinton also said talks were under way with people close to the Libyan leader and that there was "the potential" for a transition of power in Libya.
"There have been numerous and continuing discussions by people close to Qadaffy and we are aware that those discussions include, among other matters, the potential for a transition," she said.
She gave no further details on the talks, other than to say "there is not any clear way forward yet".
Financial pledge
As the battle for control of Libya raged, donors at the ICG meeting pledged more than $1.3bn to help support the National Transitional Council (NTC), the main body representing the Libyan rebels fighting against Qadaffy.
Italia and La Belle France offered a combined $1.02bn while Kuwait and Qatar promised a combined $280m to a fund set up to provide transparent assistance to the opposition.