#1 UK, France and Italy send advisers to Libya.
Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2011 11:30 am
BBC
Between the fact that the no fly zone has once again failed to result in toppling a dictator and the utter inability of the rebel forces to fight in an organized manner the Europeans are finding themselves sinking in deeper. Add in the fun fact that NATO's munitions are running low and the Europeans are gonna to relearn just what it takes to run operations like this. France has some idea from their operations in their former African colonies but those are all low intensity, low profile interventions, this is a high speed, high firepower mission which no one (excluding the US and Russia) has done in awhile. Or at least done in any great scale over a long period of time.
First off, I have to admit despite my bitching, Obama did keep to his word, more or less. The US has cut back it's role deeply in Libya and I'm okay with this. We're in Afghanistan and still managing our transition in Iraq, bluntly we don't have the troops, time or resources for an indepth commitment to Libya. I'm okay with handing the rebels 25 mil, call it an investment. So this is Europe's show and frankly I see it becoming a bit of a rude awakening for some over there.France and Italy have said they are to send small teams of military officers to advise Libyan rebels who are seeking to topple Col Muammar Gaddafi.
French officials said fewer than 10 would be sent, while Italy's defence minister announced that 10 would go.
The UK said on Tuesday it was sending a similar team to the city of Benghazi.
Meanwhile, the UN has said the reported use of cluster munitions by Col Gaddafi's forces in the city of Misrata "could amount to international crimes".
"Reportedly one cluster bomb exploded just a few hundred metres from Misrata hospital, and other reports suggest at least two medical clinics have been hit by mortars or sniper fire," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said in a statement.
Ms Pillay said the deliberate targeting of medical facilities was a war crime, and the deliberate targeting or reckless endangerment of civilians might also amount to serious violations of international humanitarian law.
"I urge the Libyan authorities to face the reality that they are digging themselves and the Libyan population deeper and deeper into the quagmire. They must halt the siege of Misrata," Ms Pillay added.
She also urged Nato forces to exercise the utmost caution and vigilance so as not to kill civilians by mistake. French President Nicolas Sarkozy has promised to intensify air strikes.
US officials meanwhile told the Associated Press that the Obama administration had decided to give the rebels $25m (£15.2m) in "non-lethal assistance" after assessing their capabilities and intentions.
'Real issue'
Inspired by uprisings in neighbouring Tunisia and Egypt, the rebels have been fighting Col Gaddafi's forces since February. The rebels, based in Benghazi, hold much of the east, while Col Gaddafi's forces remain in control of Tripoli and most of the west.
French government spokesman Francois Baroin reaffirmed that France had no intention of sending a military force to Libya, saying: "We do not envisage deploying combat ground troops."
However, Defence Minister Gerard Longuet said the idea of such a deployment was "a real issue" that deserved consideration by the UN Security Council.
The BBC's Hugh Schofield in Paris says that in France, as in Britain, there is concern about the Libyan campaign turning into an open-ended commitment as both governments push to its limits the UN resolution endorsing the protection of civilians in Libya.
Between the fact that the no fly zone has once again failed to result in toppling a dictator and the utter inability of the rebel forces to fight in an organized manner the Europeans are finding themselves sinking in deeper. Add in the fun fact that NATO's munitions are running low and the Europeans are gonna to relearn just what it takes to run operations like this. France has some idea from their operations in their former African colonies but those are all low intensity, low profile interventions, this is a high speed, high firepower mission which no one (excluding the US and Russia) has done in awhile. Or at least done in any great scale over a long period of time.