Posted on 04/14/2011 10:53:27 AM PDT by The KG9 Kid
NATO foreign ministers have endorsed calls for Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi to leave power, amid divisions among alliance members on the campaign to protect civilians in the North African country.
At a meeting in Berlin today, NATO foreign ministers agreed the alliance would continue its Libya mission as long as was needed.
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the mission was to protect civilians, and "we will do what it takes to fulfill that mission."
"We are committed to providing all necessary resources and maximum operational flexibility within our mandate," he said.
"A high operational tempo against legitimate targets will be maintained and we will exert this pressure as long as necessary."
Rasmussen set out three targets for the campaign to cease.
These included an end to all attacks and threats against civilians; verifiable evidence that Qaddafi's regime had withdrawn military forces, including snipers and mercenaries, from occupied areas; and that "full, safe and unhindered humanitarian access to all people in Libya in need of assistance" was permitted.
The bombing campaign against the North African country has so far failed to tip the balance in favor of the rebels fighting to end Qaddafi's reign, prompting France and United Kingdom to call on other alliance members to do more.
U.S. Remains Committed
The two countries have led the air strikes since NATO took over the leadership from the United States in implementing the United Nation resolution enforcing a no-fly zone to protect Libyan civilians.
Rasmussen stressed that NATO had the "necessary assets" to carry out the mission but admitted that the alliance needed "very sophisticated equipment" such as precision fighters for air to ground missions to avoid civilian casualties. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (R) and British Foreign Secretary William Hague at the NATO meeting on Libya.
No pledges were made during the meeting but the Secretary-General said he had "heard indications" that give him hope. It is believed that such equipment could be provided by the United States, which so far has been reluctant to be heavily involved in the conflict.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said before the meeting that the United States supported the military campaign but declined to speculate about a stronger American involvement.
"The U.S. is committed to our shared mission," she said. "We will strongly support the coalition until our work is completed."
No Word On Arming Rebels
Rasmussen remained reticent on whether it was in the mandate to arm the rebels fighting the regime, but he did point out that it was up to the opposition groups to decide on their daily tactics.
"It is for the Libyan people to decide the future of Libya," he said. He also added that there was no intention to interfere wityh Libyan politics and that "it is for the Libyans to shape the future of their own country."
The rebel leadership announced on April 13that they are "discussing weapons deals with countries that officially recognized the council," and claimed that they have been getting "positive replies."
Britain has already said it would send the rebels 1,000 sets of body armor in "non-lethal" aid from surplus British defense stocks.
Germany Keen To Play Down Rift
The run-up to the meeting had otherwise been dominated by a rift caused by Germany's lukewarm response to NATO's involvement in the conflict.
The host of the meeting has been keen to disassociate itself from the military campaign, notably abstaining on the vote in the UN last month. So far, the NATO bombing campaign in Libya has failed to tip the scales in favor of the rebels.
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle was however keen to downplay any conflict and underlined that Germany had taken sides despite not being engaged in the war.
"On the issue of Libya, there is only one difference, the question how to reach a common goal," he said.
"Germany decided not to participate in a military mission in Libya but that certainly does not mean that we are neutral."
Westerwelle's French counterpart, Alain Juppe, also hit a diplomatic tone, noting that Germany and France shared the same objective when it came to the future of Libya.
"We have a common goal. We believe that the aspirations of the Libyan people for freedom and democracy must be met and we must support that," he said.
"This goes together with Qaddafi's departure. A political solution must be found. On all this, we agree."
written by Rikard Jozwiak, with agency reports
Now look.
Days not weeks........
Another new one world order scam.
“We will stay to accomplish the goals that we can not yet agree upon, much less agree as to how to actually accomplish them.”
Spoken like a true EU/UN bureaucrat.
Now the US:
-Largest payer into NATO (~27.5% by ourselves and all other 28 nations contribute the other 72.5% combined).
-Flipping the majority of the bill for this mission.
-Having initiated combat and conducted the high threat missions early on when air defenses are still functional.
-Will under the guise of NATO continue to conduct missions.
However, Obama will not personally be connected to anything bad that happens there since he added a layer of insulation between himself and this intervention, the supra national institution, NATO.
How European of him!
This is America's first experience with a Euro style politician.
It will last until Russia or China puts a stop to it.
Rumsfeld was 100% right, but the Euro’s didn't want that. The idiot media in the US was more worried about going after him than the actual story, a NATO system that isn't working right (Even before Iraq Rumsfeld was pushing this). Today no one will see things like this as “vindication” of his arguments. Most Americans will have moved on and will know who won Dancing with the Stars the last time around..........
Yes. My thoughts exactly: isn’t this like mirror, mirror on the wall . . .?
Everything they criticized the U.S. for, they are now finding out the realities of.
No blood for oil.
“The Europeans dislike the idea of anything that requires them to do anything or costs them money. “
True, but also remember that they’ve essentially disarmed and only have token militaries. It’s showing loud and clear here. If and when the Arabs can get rid of Israel, they’ll practically be able to walk into Western Europe, uncontested, given the amount of military hardware they now posses.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.