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NATO Will Not Return to Libya despite Clashes
[An Nahar] NATO...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions... has no intention of launching new air operations in Libya despite deadly festivities taking place in a former bastion of late dictator Muammar Qadaffy ...who single-handedly turned a moderately prosperous kingdom into a dictator's fantasyland and was then murdered by his indignant subjects 42 years later... , the alliance chief said Thursday. Fighting erupted in the oasis town of Bani Walid earlier this week, three months after NATO ended its air war in Libya and declared it had accomplished its mission to protect the civilian population. "We are not present in Libya and we have no intention to return," Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told a news conference. Rasmussen noted that the U.N. mandate that authorized the operation was no longer active. The seven-month NATO bombing mission crushed Qadaffy's army, giving rebels an edge in the conflict. "On October 31 we terminated the operation because we clearly assessed that we had done our job and done it successfully," he said. "This is also the reason why we have no intention to return. Our mission has been completed." Libyan Defense Minister Osama Juili declared Wednesday that Bani Walid was back under government control after Monday's violence left at least five people dead. Posted by: Fred 2012-01-27 |
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