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US warships headed for Libya arrive in Greece

McCain steps up calls for Libya 'no-fly' zone
Washington (AFP) March 4, 2011 - Senior US Senator John McCain stepped up pressure Friday on President Barack Obama to impose a no-fly zone over Libya, calling it a test of whether he truly wants Moamer Kadhafi gone from power. "If you want Kadhafi to go, then one of the steps among many would be to establish a no-fly zone to prevent him from massacring his own people from the air," said McCain, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee. He added that the United States could also help the uprising against Kadhafi with humanitarian aid, "some covert activity," or sharing satellite imagery, but stressed: "I do not subscribe to or advocate US ground troops in Libya."

Obama said Thursday during a White House news conference with Mexican President Felipe Calderon, that "Colonel Kadhafi needs to step down from power and leave." McCain's comments came after he and other top members of the committee received a closed-door, top-secret briefing from the Pentagon on Libya's military, including what McCain described as "force disposition and status." There are "not a lot of aircraft that Kadhafi has flying, his air defense systems are certainly old, and it is not a major challenge -- at least in my assessment -- of being able to impose a no-fly zone," said the senator, a former fighter pilot and Vietnam veteran.

"There is the possibility, in Libya, of a stalemate, where Kadhafi controls Tripoli and its environment and the eastern part of the country is controlled by the revolutionaries," he said. "That, obviously, would give Kadhafi a much greater opportunity to kill his own people, which he has announced that he is more than ready to do," said McCain. Asked about relations between Washington and a successor government to Kadhafi, McCain replied: "It can be a lot better and certainly it couldn't be worse."

And he criticized the Pentagon's knowledge of the situation in Libya, saying: "Very frankly, it's very rare that I hear something in one of these briefings that is any different from what I see watching and listening to the media." McCain singled out a comment from the top US military officer, Admiral Mike Mullen, who said Tuesday that he had "no confirmation whatsoever" of air attacks on anti-Kadhafi demonstrators. "When the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff says that he has no sign of attacks from the air on the citizenry, and of course we see then shortly thereafter film of that happening, then obviously I would assume they're not completely up to speed," said the senator.

That slap came after Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Mullen expressed doubts at a joint press conference about the prospects for setting up a no-fly zone with key US allies. "It's an extraordinarily complex operation to set up," said Mullen. "There is no unanimity within NATO for the use of armed force," said Gates. The four-star admiral agreed with an assessment voiced earlier by the head of US Central Command, General James Mattis, who said that enforcing a no-fly zone would require first bombing radar and missile defenses in Libya.
by Staff Writers
Athens (AFP) March 4, 2011
Two US warships carrying marines and equipment to help evacuate people fleeing Libya arrived on Friday at a US naval base on the Greek island of Crete, a spokesman at the base told AFP.

The USS Kearsage and the USS Ponce set anchor at Souda Bay, Paul Farley said.

As part of international efforts to help evacuate people fleeing Libya, US President Barack Obama directed the use of military aircraft to help Egyptians who have fled to the Tunisian border return home, Farley said in a statement.

The Kearsage and Ponce had crossed the Suez Canal and reached the Mediterranean Sea on Wednesday. The Kearsage amphibious ready group includes 800 marines, a fleet of helicopters and medical facilities.

Their arrival came amid reports that forces loyal to Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi have regained control of Zawiyah, near Tripoli, from rebel hands.

About 400 Marines from Camp Lejeune in North Carolina arrived Thursday at the base amid a "repositioning" of forces in the region, said Farley.

The naval base supplies US and NATO forces in the region following an agreement with the US in 1990, a Greek defence ministry official said.

According to Athens, three Greek navy vessels have since last week also been patrolling the Mediterranean Sea between Crete and Libya to protect Greek ships participating in the evacuation of foreign nationals from Libya.

Western powers are arguing over imposing a proposed no-fly zone over Libya to support rebels fighting Kadhafi's regime. Some opposition figures in Libya have begun calling for air strikes.

But Kadhafi warned in a speech on Wednesday that "thousands" would die if the West intervened to support the uprising against him.

An American aircraft carrier, the USS Enterprise -- which has fighter jets that could enforce a possible no-fly zone -- could also be called upon for the Libya crisis.

earlier related report
Dutch trying to secure release of soldiers in Libya
The Hague (AFP) March 4, 2011 - The Netherlands said it was using "every diplomatic angle" to secure the release of three soldiers captured in Libya during an unauthorised rescue operation whose wisdom was questioned on Friday.

The three were taken captive in Sirte in the north of Libya on Sunday in a botched attempt to evacuate two civilians, a Dutch engineer and one other European, by navy helicopter with no backup on board.

"We are doing our utmost to get them back and are using every diplomatic angle we can use," Prime Minister Mark Rutte told a post-cabinet press conference, insisting he could not elaborate until the three were home safe.

As the press and experts questioned the wisdom of the operation, for which the government concedes it had no Libyan authorisation, Rutte stressed that "the focus now must be on getting them back safely ... as quickly as possible.

"As long as I am of the opinion that it is better for the process of getting them back safely that the cabinet and I remain mum, we will do so."

Earlier, the defence ministry said "intensive negotiations" were underway to secure the liberty of the three: two navy pilots, one of them a woman, and a loadmaster.

Dutch television on Thursday night broadcast images taken from Libyan television of the three soldiers, apparently in good health.

Their capture first became known on Thursday, having been kept quiet "for security reasons", according to the Dutch government, which has since been frugal with details.

Defence ministry spokesman Otte Beeksma said Libyan soldiers on Sunday prevented the Lynx helicopter from taking off from Syrte with the three Dutch marines and two civilians on board.

The civilians were later handed over to the Dutch embassy in Tripoli and returned to the Netherlands on Wednesday.

"This was a frivolous, careless action in a secured Kadhafi area, without backup from special forces," Ko Colijn, acting director of the Clingendael international relations think-tank's security programme, told AFP.

"It has been hugely damaging for the Netherlands and NATO."

As the evacuation had not been authorised, Libya was within its rights to hold and charge the three, said Colijn.

"As long as Kadhafi remains in Libya, he will not free them quickly. He can use them every day to threaten the West and NATO. He can use them to force the Netherlands to pay a price, perhaps literally in the form of money, or in the form of undertakings not to take part in any Western-imposed no-fly zone or other military intervention."

"We are perplexed, the Netherlands is not a country of cowboys," a European diplomat told AFP in The Hague. "Perhaps it was an error of judgment. They gave Kadhafi a golden bargaining chip."

Libyan news agency Jana reported that the Dutch helicopter was "full of arms", and said it entered Libyan airspace in violation of international law.

Dutch daily Trouw said the botched evacuation has "embarrassed" the Dutch government and would leave it diplomatically "broken-winged" until the three are freed.

"Botched evacuation defies all tactical prescriptions," headlined the Volkskrant.







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WAR REPORT
Fresh air strike as Libyan rebels advance
Uqayla, Libya (AFP) March 4, 2011
Libyan forces launched a fresh air strike on rebel territory in the east on Friday as pumped-up opposition fighters pushed forward the frontline against Moamer Kadhafi's regime. There were no casualties or damage as a government jet bombed an opposition-controlled military base on the outskirts of the strategic eastern town of Ajdabiya on the third straight day of air strikes. "There was ... read more







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