Gates: US Libya action does not set a precedent

Libyan rebels near Ajbadiya
© AFP/File Odd Andersen

AFP

CAMP MAREZ, Iraq (AFP) - US military action in Libya did not set a precedent for future American intervention in other Middle Eastern countries facing uprisings or unrest, Pentagon chief Robert Gates said on Friday.

"What has made Libya unique is first of all a request, which is unprecedented in my experience, of the Arab League actually asking for an intervention in the Middle East, to take on an Arab government mistreating its own people," the US defence secretary said.

Gates said the Arab League request was then supported by the Gulf Cooperation Council and bolstered by the United Nations and allies such as Britain and France.

"It's hard for me to imagine those kinds of circumstances being replicated any place else," he said during a visit to the Marez Camp US military base in northern Iraq.

After dithering on whether to intervene in Libya to protect insurgents fighting strongman Moamer Kadhafi, the United States led an international coalition that intervened with air power, before handing the lead to NATO.

© AFP -- Published at Activist Post with license

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Libya more 'vital' to Europe than US: Obama ex-advisor

Robert Gates: Libya is "not a vital interest (to the United States) in the sense that it affects the vital security of the nation," and "It is more in the vital interest of Europeans... when you consider the effects of massive immigration, the effects of terror, the oil market."

Dees Illustration

AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The Libya endgame is more "vital" to Europe than the United States, a former White House adviser said Sunday, and urged Arab and African allies to step up as Washington slims its role in the conflict.

Retired general James Jones, who until last October served as President Barack Obama's national security adviser, acknowledged on Sunday talk shows that strongman Moamer Kadhafi's ouster was the ultimate goal in the military campaign, but said there was little clarity on how that will be accomplished.

With the UN-approved military strikes against Kadhafi's forces in their third week, the Pentagon has stepped back from a leadership role in the air campaign, stressing it does not want to engage in yet another major war.
Libya is "not a vital interest (to the United States) in the sense that it affects the vital security of the nation," he told ABC News program "This Week."

"It is more in the vital interest of Europeans... when you consider the effects of massive immigration, the effects of terror, the oil market."

European countries, led by Italy, France and Germany, are the top consumers of Libyan crude, and total Libyan output amounts to less than two percent of world production.

A US-led coalition launched the first air strikes against Libya, but NATO began to take command of the air bombing operations last Wednesday.

"What we're doing here is making sure that our allies also take on their share of responsibilities, which they are," Jones told CNN's "State of the Union" program.

He said the United States was still flying "about 50 percent of the missions," but mostly in support roles such as search and rescue and refueling.

The Arab world and Africa, players who "have much more influence on Kadhafi than we do," must now step up, said Jones, who praised the involvement of nations such as Qatar, the first Arab state to fly sorties over Libya to enforce a no-fly zone.

Some Arab nations have been targeted for criticism for standing on the sidelines in the Libya crisis.

"The participation of the Arab League in this mission I think is hugely important, and the African Union has to step up also. This is their neighborhood, and they need to play a major role in how this is going to work out," Jones said.

While Washington has insisted its involvement in Libya, where Kadhafi forces were threatening a bloodbath in rebel-held eastern cities, was meant to avert a humanitarian disaster, Jones said the true goal was the ouster of Kadhafi.

Exactly how that is accomplished has been a point of debate, and Jones appeared to reflect the growing frustration over the best way to achieve such a goal.

"We know that the ultimate -- the end state -- is to have regime change in Libya. And how you get there from where we are now... without the partitioning of Libya, without Kadhafi staying in power for a long period of time, that is the problem," he told CNN.

"But unfortunately, most people want perfect clarity in a situation where clarity doesn't exist."

© AFP -- Published at Activist Post with license

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US won't have dominant role in Libya action: Gates

© AFP/POOL Charles Dharapak

AFP

ABOARD A US MILITARY AIRCRAFT (AFP) - US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Sunday the United States would not play a "preeminent role" in military action against Libya, with other countries soon taking the lead.

US President Barack Obama "felt strongly, I would say, about limiting the scale of US military involvement in this," Gates told reporters on his plane, en route to Russia.

"We will have a military role in the coalition. But we will not have the preeminent role," Gates said.

In deciding to back intervention in Libya, Obama stressed the "importance of a meaningful coalition" with partners "making serious military contributions," Gates said.


"It is pretty clear that we agreed to use our unique capabilities and with the breadth of those capabilities at the front end of this process, then we expected in a matter of days to be able to turn over the primary responsibility to others," he said.


Gates, who delayed his scheduled trip to Russia by a day to monitor the start of US military air attacks against Moamer Kadhafi's regime, said the operation had gotten off to a "strong and successful start."

Obama's decision to launch military action against Libya enjoyed "unanimous" backing from his top advisers after a thorough review, said Gates, who had previously struck a skeptical tone on intervention in public comments.

Without revealing his own advice to Obama, Gates said that any president weighing military force "should demand a spirited debate" among his advisers.

"There has not been a question asked publicly in the last 24 hours or so that wasn't discussed in-depth in the lead-up to the launching of this operation," he said.

"Whatever positions people took . . . there was unanimous support for the course he decided on," he said.

© AFP -- Published at Activist Post with license

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