Clinton Urges Africans to Abandon Gadhafi

It's time for Moammar Gadhafi's remaining African allies to defriend the dictator, Hillary Clinton told African leaders yesterday. Clinton, the first American secretary of state to address the African Union, warned the 53-member organization that without reforms, other African leaders could fall to uprisings like the ones sweeping the Arab world, Reuters reports. Clinton had planned to spend the night in the Ethiopian capital after addressing the EU, but departed early because of volcanic ash from an eruption in neighboring Eritrea, reports AP.

"Too many people in Africa still live under long-standing rulers—men who care too much about the longevity of their reign and too little about the legacy that should be built for their countries' future," she said. "Some even claim to believe in democracy defined as one election, one time." Clinton acknowledged that Gadhafi had provided financial support to many African nations and institutions, including the AU, but said his abuses mean "it has become clear that we are long past the day when he can remain in power." (More Hillary Clinton stories.)