Another FUBAR war.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,752222,00.htmlThe conflict in Libya is being described as the first war to be initiated by United States President Barack Obama since taking office, but Washington would like to hand over command for Operation Odyssey Dawn to Britain, France or its partners in the NATO alliance as quickly as possible.
The US has said it would continue to support operations as well as engage itself militarily, but that it would not continue to maintain the "pre-eminent role," US Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters traveling with him on a trip to Russia on Sunday. On Monday, however, it didn't look likely that a NATO role would develop as quickly as the US government might like.
So far, the NATO alliance has been unable to reach an agreement on participation in the military implementation of the no-fly zone. Turkey is resisting the measure and is calling for a new review of other possible measures the alliance could take in Libya. Ankara has also called for an immediate Western cease-fire, with Turkish officials calling on NATO to give greater consideration in its discussions to the possibility of civilian deaths, a NATO diplomat told the news agency AFP under the condition of anonymity. Ankara has rejected any NATO intervention against Libya, including the implementation of a no-fly zone.
"Military intervention by NATO in Libya or any other country would be totally counterproductive," Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, according to the Anatolia news agency on Monday. "In addition to being counterproductive, such an operation could have dangerous consequences."Turkey appears to be concerned about its standing in the Muslim world. On Sunday, the Arab League, which at first had supported calls for a no-fly zone, spoke out critically of Western powers' heavy bombing, saying it had resulted in civilian deaths.
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
