Friday, April 15, 2011

The Atlantic Alliance raises funds for military operations in Libya

First you assess the achievements of the military operation in Libya and also quantify the anticipated cost sharing from now. These are the main objectives of the meeting held on Thursday and Friday in Berlin's 28 foreign ministers of NATO with the six countries that contribute to the operation under NATO command in Libya (Qatar, UAE, Jordan, Morocco, Sweden and Ukraine).

And although not mentioned on the agenda, the confidential, will focus on the possibilities for a new government in Libya, as well as countries whose intelligence services are not active on the ground, but who is asking for more contributions money and arms and who insist on having more precise information on the rebels that NATO is prepared to fund.

Paris and London, reinforcing the request of the rebels of the Libyan National Transitional Council, have called for NATO to intensify its operations to protect civilians from the forces of Muammar Gaddafi. French Foreign Minister, Alain Juppe, believes that NATO is not doing "enough" to protect civilians in Libya.

"NATO must play its part fully," he said, stressing that "it requires to take the lead in operations, as we have accepted." Juppe has also pointed out this morning that Paris was not in favor of arming the rebels. His British counterpart, William Hague, has arrived in Berlin defended the need for NATO to "continue and intensify its efforts" in Libya.

"We must maintain and intensify our efforts in NATO, why the UK has contributed in recent weeks additional aircraft capable of attacking ground targets that threaten the population in Libya," he said, acknowledging that "there are always more things to do. " And as foreign affairs chief of the opposition in Benghazi, Ali Essawi, said Tuesday in Luxembourg before flying to the German capital to expect "further efforts" of the international community to protect civilians.

These statements have been received as unfounded criticism in the direction of NATO and General Mark van Uhm, chief operating officer allied military headquarters of the Alliance has argued that NATO does "good work" with the means at its disposal, implying that what is needed is that the resources flow.

"With the means that we're doing a great job and we are fulfilling our mission. Not for us say we want more," said the general. "If you give more, you can do more," he said. NATO has about 72 aircraft for the operation and the commander in charge of the investigation, the Canadian General Charles Bouchard, has requested the additional deployment of about a dozen ground-attack planes and six or seven aircraft refueling flight.

The NATO Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, advanced Monday in Brussels that "many European allies" have committed to provide additional combat aircraft to operate in Libya, but has shown some distance to the requests of France and the United Kingdom and has repeated several times in recent days that "no military solution to Libya," implying that it is time for politics.

United States, which since the early days of the operation made clear its intention to reduce its presence in Libya, withdrew last week 50 ground attack aircraft until now under NATO command, while retaining several of them available to you "in if necessary, "according to diplomatic sources.

United Kingdom, which has promised to make available to NATO last week four planes 'Tornado', has promised additional resources without specifying. Spain, bringing four F-18 and a refueling aircraft to assist the maintenance of the no-fly zone and another F-100 frigate, one submarine and maritime patrol aircraft to enforce the arms embargo, it drops to a available four F-18 for ground attacks against military targets, according to Spanish diplomatic sources have acknowledged.

The Spanish Government has committed more resources to participate in a humanitarian mission specific, but without carrying Spanish soldiers on Libyan soil. Other allies involved in the operation in Libya and Turkey and the Netherlands and made it clear when the Alliance took on 31 March, the command of all military operations in Libya would not participate in bombing operations ashore, while others like Italy had expressed "doubts" about the possibility of participating in them because of the potential of causing civilian casualties.

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