World | Moammar Gadhafi NATO: Gadhafi Is a Legitimate Target UN resolution authorizes killing leader, official says By Rob Quinn Posted Jun 10, 2011 2:41 AM CDT Copied Smoke billows from an area near Gadhafi's compound in Tripoli after NATO airstrikes earlier this week. (Getty Images) As NATO jets continue to pound Tripoli, a senior military official in the alliance refused to tell CNN whether Moammar Gadhafi was being directly targeted. He did, however, stress that the leader, as head of the Libyan military, is a "legitimate target" to protect civilians. The UN resolution authorizing NATO's action in Libya says forces can use "all necessary measures" to protect civilians. Gadhafi may still make it out of Libya alive: Hillary Clinton says people close to the leader have approached other countries in an attempt to negotiate his exit. Read These Next Trump laid a 'trap' for Democrats, and GOP aims to pounce. Men's, women's hockey players stick together after Trump joke. Christina Applegate pulls back the curtain on her real life. Driver who killed Dixie Chicks founder hears his fate. Report an error