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| Africa North |
| US repositions military forces around Libya |
| 2011-03-01 |
| WASHINGTON - The United States began repositioning naval and air force units around Libya on Monday, stepping up pressure on embattled leader Muammar Gaddafi after calling on him to step down immediately. The naval units could be used for humanitarian and rescue missions, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in Geneva, where she told the U.N. Human Rights Council that Gaddafi was using “mercenaries and thugs” to suppress a popular uprising. “There is not any pending military action involving US naval vessels,” she said after the Pentagon announced the repositioning of military units. The Pentagon gave no details of the forces being moved, but its announcement was likely aimed at sending a signal to Gaddafi and his government that the United States was matching its sharper rhetoric with action. “We have planners working and various contingency plans and ... as part of that we’re repositioning forces to be able to provide for that flexibility once decisions are made,” said Colonel David Lapan, a Pentagon spokesman. It was not immediately clear what ships the US Navy has in the Mediterranean but it does have two aircraft carriers stationed further southeast in the Gulf and Arabian Sea. |
| Posted by:Steve White |