25 May 2011 — Stop NATO
- NATO Ground Troops Likely To Follow Helicopters In Libya
- Latest NATO Air Strikes Kill 19, Wound Over 130 In Tripoli
- Russia Condemns Intensified Bombing Of Libya
- Libya: 8,168 NATO Sorties, 3,133 Strike Missions
- Obama-Cameron Talks Focus On Libyan, Afghan Wars
- Afghan War: NATO Death Toll Continues To Rise
NATO Ground Troops Likely To Follow Helicopters In Libya
Vancouver Sun
May 25, 2011
Ground troops likely to follow attack helicopters into Libyan fray
By Jonathan Manthorpe
The French and British-led NATO campaign against Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi has taken another step toward deploying troops on the ground with the announcement that attack helicopters are to be sent to the conflict.
The statement by French Defence Minister Gerard Longuet that his forces will send 12 ground attack helicopters to operate in Libya, with the British likely to announce similar moves soon, is a significant escalation in the conflict and a further stretching of the March United Nations resolution authorizing military intervention.
That Security Council mandate only authorized the protection of civilians…
In response, North Atlantic Treaty Organization air forces have attempted to impose a no-fly zone over Libya…The NATO forces have also made bombing raids against Gadhafi’s military assets and his command and control centres.
But this intervention has not been conclusive.
Last week Rear Admiral James Faggo, operations head of the United States 6th Fleet, said despite two months of these air raids Gadhafi still has 60 per cent of his military capacity.
Fighting on the ground between the ill-trained and ill-equipped rebels and Gadhafi’s forces has bogged down into a stalemate.
There is persistent talk of dividing the country between the rebel-held east based on the city of Benghazi and Gadhafi remaining in power in the capital Tripoli and the west.
But with the French government of President Nicolas Sarkozy leading the charge, Paris, London and Washington have all said the only acceptable outcome is for Gadhafi to quit power entirely.
…
The deployment of the ground attack helicopters, which allow much more precise attacks on Gadhafi’s forces and close support for the rebels, is a step toward that goal.
But this tactical escalation comes with added risks, making it more likely that at some point NATO ground troops will be dispatched to Libya to finish off the task of ousting Gadhafi and his regime.
NATO’s high-flying bombers have been secure against Gadhafi’s air defences. There have been no NATO combat casualties.
The attack helicopters are a more useful and potent weapon in this kind of infantry war. But they are vulnerable to being brought down by shoulderfired anti-aircraft missiles -of which Gadhafi is known to have ample supplies – rocketpropelled grenades and even small arms fire.
The intensified bombing attacks on Gadhafi’s compound in Tripoli and other military sites in the last few days are probably an attempt to minimize the danger of NATO helicopters being downed. The focus appears to be on Gadhafi’s command, control and communications centres, the essential element in managing not only his continued military resistance, but also his response to the helicopters.
If, however, the attack helicopters prove vulnerable and some are brought down, there will be growing calls for intervention on the ground by NATO forces to break the stalemate and end Gadhafi’s resistance.
That’s what happened in Kosovo in 1999 when the air campaign failed to produce results. Indeed, it looks as though NATO planners are replaying the campaign against Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic’s attempts to prevent the secession of Kosovo.
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Latest NATO Air Strikes Kill 19, Wound Over 130 In Tripoli
en.trend.az/regions/met/arabicr/1881447.html
Trend News Agency
May 25, 2011
NATO airstrike kills 19 in Tripoli
A NATO airstrike killed 19 people and injured over 130 others in Tripoli overnight Tuesday, a government spokesman said.
Moussa Ibrahim told Xinhua that the air raid, the heaviest against the capital in more than two months, lasted over one hour, and also caused huge property damage.
The NATO military carried out over a dozen attacks against “barracks of the people’s guards,” who are volunteer units supporting the government forces.
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s Bab al-Aziziya residence was also severely damaged, and the windows of some civilian buildings several kilometers from the residence were shattered.
Locals said the raid caused them to panic as they failed to find shelters.
Late Tuesday, NATO conducted another air attack against the residence, and very powerful explosions could be heard from far away.
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en.trend.az/regions/met/arabicr/1881283.html
Trend News Agency
May 25, 2011
More NATO airstrikes rattle Tripoli
More NATO airstrikes have hit Tripoli, with the latest attacks targeting Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi’s residence once again, Press TV reported.
Three explosions rang out in the Bab Al-Aziziya district of Tripoli at 11:00 p.m. (2100 GMT) on Tuesday night. Three others were heard minutes later, AFP reported.
NATO warplanes also attacked Gaddafi’s residence on Monday. The Libyan government said nineteen people were killed and more than 150 others were injured in the airstrikes.
NATO is mandated by the UN to enforce a no-fly zone on Libya in order to protect civilians.
On Tuesday, French Defense Minister Gérard Longuet said France will send 12 helicopters to Libya and added that Britain also plans to send helicopters to the country in the near future.
British Armed Forces Minister Nick Harvey told MPs on Tuesday that the government has not yet decided about the issue of sending attack helicopters to the Libya war.
Meanwhile, pro-Gaddafi forces have continued their attacks on the rebel positions. Several rockets were fired on opposition forces in Zintan on Monday.
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Russia Condemns Intensified Bombing Of Libya
english.ruvr.ru/2011/05/25/50786067.html
Voice of Russia
May 25, 2011
Russia condemns airstrikes on Libya
Russia condemns the international coalition’s airstrikes on Libya.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has described the latest bombardment of Tripoli, which resulted in the death of 19 people, as a flagrant violation of UN Security Council resolutions.
The coalition insists that the strikes help protect the civilian population, however the air raids have failed to stop military confrontation in Libya, instead adding to people’s suffering, says Russian Foreign Ministry official Konstantin Dolgov.
The diplomat pointed out that Moscow continues to insist on a political settlement of the situation in Libya, as well as on ending immediately all military action in the North African country.
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en.trend.az/regions/world/russia/1881604.html
Deutsche Presse-Agentur
May 25, 2011
Russia condemns latest round of NATO air attacks on Tripoli
Russia on Wednesday sharply criticized the latest round of air strikes by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on the Libyan capital Tripoli, calling the attacks “useless” and a “violation of UN resolutions.”
A statement from Russia’s Foreign Ministry said the early Wednesday morning strikes “will lead to even more suffering of the Libyan population.”
All sides should lay down their arms immediately, the statement said, DPA reported.
Russia in March enabled international intervention into the Libyan civil war by abstaining from a UN resolution authorizing member nations to use force to protect Libya’s civilian population.
NATO nations since then have launched more than 8,000 sorties in a widening air campaign against armed forces and ground installations controlled by Libyan leader Moamar Gaddafi.
Russia has accused NATO nations of abusing the spirit of the UN resolution in an attempt to force Gaddafi from power.
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Libya: 8,168 NATO Sorties, 3,133 Strike Missions
www.nato.int/nato_static/assets/pdf/pdf_2011_05/20110525_110525-oup-update.pdf
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
May 25, 2011
NATO and Libya
Allied Joint Force Command NAPLES, SHAPE, NATO HQ
…
Over the past 24 hours, NATO has conducted the following activities associated with Operation UNIFIED PROTECTOR:
Air Operations
Since the beginning of the NATO operation (31 March 2011, 08.00GMT) a total of 8168 sorties, including 3133 strike sorties, have been conducted.
Sorties conducted 24 May: 149
Strike sorties conducted 24 May: 56
…
Arms Embargo Activities
A total of 21 ships under NATO command are actively patrolling the Central Mediterranean.
14 Vessels were hailed on 24 May to determine destination and cargo. 1 boarding (no diversion) was conducted.
A total of 1039 vessels have been hailed. 51 boardings and 7 diversions have been conducted since the beginning of arms embargo operations.
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Obama-Cameron Talks Focus On Libyan, Afghan Wars
www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1b473af4-86b0-11e0-9d41-00144feabdc0.html?ftcamp=rss#axzz1NNOesPNG
Financial Times
May 25, 2011
UK-US talks turn to military affairs
By Elizabeth Rigby
[Excerpts]
Barack Obama and David Cameron held talks in Downing Street on Wednesday morning as the US president’s state visit turned from pageantry to more serious foreign policy issues.
The Nato operations in Libya and Afghanistan were expected to be high on the agenda of the talks – expected to last about 90 minutes – with both Washington and London seeking to show a united front on Libya and push back against perceptions that the fighting had entered a stalemate.
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The US looked to its allies “to do a great deal” which France, the UK and other nations were doing, said the foreign secretary, but he added: “I don’t think one can fault that”.
The bilateral talks would focus on “intensifying” pressure on the Gaddafi regime, he said.
The two leaders will also discuss Afghanistan…
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Afghan War: NATO Death Toll Continues To Rise
en.trend.az/regions/world/afghanistan/1881698.html
Trend News Agency
May 25, 2011
NATO solider killed in Afghanistan
A soldier with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was killed in an explosion on Wednesday in north Afghanistan, the military alliance said, Xinhua reported.
“An International Security Assistance Force service member died following an improvised explosive device (IED) attack in northern Afghanistan today,” said an ISAF statement released here.
However, the brief statement did not disclose the nationality and position of the victim, saying it is ISAF policy to defer casualty identification procedures to the relevant national authorities.
This is the second NATO soldier who has been killed in Afghanistan since Tuesday.
Another soldier, according to ISAF statement released Wednesday, was killed in southern region of Afghanistan on Tuesday.
The simple but lethal homemade Taliban weapon, the Improvised Explosive Device (IED), used in making suicide vests and roadside bombs has proved challenging for Afghan and NATO-led forces in the insurgency-hit country.
More than 180 NATO soldiers, with majority of them Americans, have been killed in Afghanistan since the beginning of this year.
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