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| Africa North |
| NATO "not picking sides" |
| 2011-03-29 |
| [Al Jazeera] International air strikes continued on Monday with British Tornado aircraft attacking and destroying Libyan government ammunition bunkers in the Sabha area of the southern desert, the British defence ministry said. "Storm Shadow missiles were launched against ammunition bunkers used to re-supply Libyan government troops attacking civilians in the north of the country, including Misurata," it said in a statement. NATO on Sunday assumed full command of coalition air operations in Libya. "We have directed NATO's top operational commander to begin executing this operation with immediate effect," Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO's secretary general, said in a statement "Our goal is to protect civilians and civilian-populated areas under threat from the Qadaffy regime." The operations will be led by Canadian General Charles Bouchard, NATO said. Speaking to Al Jizz, Rasmussen said that NATO was "impartial" and not picking sides, and that its mandate was only to prevent violence against civilians. "After we have trounced the Qadaffy side we intend to trounce the rebels, and then we may take drastic measures to stamp out juvenile delinquency!" Rasmussen said that NATO's taking authority over the military intervention would provide "unity of command". He also confirmed that several non-NATO countries would be contributing to the military effort, but said he would leave announcements up to individual governments. James Spencer, a Middle East and North Africa defence analyst, told Al Jizz that removing Qadaffy from power was "not within NATO's purview". "If you listen very carefully, the Secretary-General of NATO has been very clear. [Intervention] is to protect civilians against Qadaffy attacks," he said. |
| Posted by:Fred |
#10 I wonder if the Russians see this inane crap and regret they didn't come pouring through the Fulda Gap back in the 80's. The European Commission is not available for comment |
| Posted by: European Conservative 2011-03-29 20:41 |
| #9 How many sides are there in the area formally called Libya? Team Daffy and the Tribes Called Questionable certainly. NATO, European Union, Mediterranian Union, Africa Union, Arab League, OIC, UN with bonus of Libya on Human Rights Board, OPEC, thoght I saw the Organization of American States wanted their say on account of US&Canada, who'd I miss (besides the non-nation clubs but perhaps should include)? |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2011-03-29 17:19 |
| #8 Yeah, and they require their troops to be any certain age before they take up arms either. Sorry, I meant they do NOT require their troops to be any certain age before they take up arms. I proofread it but not well enough. |
| Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 2011-03-29 12:42 |
| #7 What are all these do gooders gonna do when the heroic, freedom loving rebels start murdering civilians in Tripoli whom they suspect of being sympathetic to Daffy? Sorry, Anders. Your argument about protecting civilians is every bit as bogus as Hamid Karzai and the Talibunnies bemoaning the way NATO troops kill civilians in Afghanistan. In other words, you are a damn liar because you know as well as everybody else that the term civilian has no meaning in these Third World conflicts. They don't have regular, uniformed, standing armies and they did NOT sign the Geneva Convention treaties. Those rebels all look like civilians except for the fact that they are carrying AK-47s and RPGs. When they die their buddies pick up the weapons and they become civilians again. Neat, huh? Yeah, and they require their troops to be any certain age before they take up arms either. Why don't you just tell us the truth which is that you want Daffy's oil and you think he's an easy mark unlike the Mad Mullahs of Iran who really do murder civilians, support terrorism and who really do pose a danger to the rest of the world? |
| Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 2011-03-29 12:38 |
| #6 I wonder if the Russians see this inane crap and regret they didn't come pouring through the Fulda Gap back in the 80's. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2011-03-29 12:21 |
| #5 I hear a lot of doublespeak. Is it 1984 yet? |
| Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 2011-03-29 12:16 |
| #4 "We're just here for the beer." |
| Posted by: mojo 2011-03-29 11:02 |
| #3 So when Obama said in his speech we will "assist the opposition" he prolly just meant we're gonna help the rebels open twitter and facebook accounts. |
| Posted by: DepotGuy 2011-03-29 10:40 |
| #2 Oh Really??? Not picking sides? Just bombing whatever in Libya? While you are at it hook up some sprayers and do some crop dusting, it is almost boll weavil season you know. Everytime someone in NATO opens their mouth, I have blood running out of my ears...and a migraine. What on earth has happened to that place? Is Obama in charge of NATO? or is Litchestein running it? |
| Posted by: Bill Clinton 2011-03-29 01:05 |
| #1 "After we have trounced the Qadaffy side we intend to trounce the rebels, and then we may take drastic measures to stamp out juvenile delinquency!" Hey Fred - Do not forget child obesity, McDonalds happy meals, plastic bags, curry (I retract curry), soda pop drinks, wallmart, violent video games, sugar, Cigarettes, Incandescent lightbulbs, operating flush toilets, animal crackers, dodgeball, football, cookies, water bottles, gas operated automobiles, electrical power, running water, sewage, music, dancing, womens education, trade schools, diving lessons, and God forbid gummy bears. |
| Posted by: newc 2011-03-29 01:01 |