TRIPOLI, March 2 (Reuters): Muammar Gaddafi said on Wednesday that Libyans would die in thousands if the United States or other foreign powers enter Libya, and he was ready to discuss constitutional and legal changes without violence.
“Do they want us to become slaves once again like we were slaves to the Italians?” the Libyan leader said, referring to Libya`s former colonial power. “We will never accept it. We will enter a bloody war and thousands and thousands of Libyans will die if the United States enters or NATO enters.”
On al Qaeda, he said: “I am ready to debate anyone one of them, one of their `emirs`, whomsoever appoints himself, who comes to me to debate with me, but they do not debate … they do not have demands at all.”