NATO says Dictator Gaddafi forces 'significantly degraded'

The head of the NATO military alliance has said that military and political pressure have weakened Dictator Muammar Gaddafi's hold on power in Libya and will eventually topple him.

"We have significantly degraded Gaddafi's war machine. And now we see results, the opposition has gained ground," NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told a news conference in the Slovak capital, Bratislava, on Thursday.

"I am confident that combination of strong military pressure and increased political pressure and support for the opposition will eventually lead to the collapse of the regime."

Rasmussen’s comments were echoed by US President Barack Obama.

"Time is working against Gaddafi. He does not have control over his country. The opposition has organised a legitimate and credible Interim Council," Obama said in Washington.

"When Gaddafi inevitably leaves or is forced from power, decades of provocation will come to an end and the transition to a democratic Libya can proceed," he said, defending his decision to take military action against the Libyan leader's anti democratic regime.