NATO has been urged to to go further combat-wise in its military operation in Libya.
William Hague, the Foreign Secretary said in an EU meeting in Luxemburg:
”We must maintain and intensify our efforts in Nato. That is why the UK has in the last week supplied additional aircraft for striking ground targets threatening the civilian population of Libya…”
Alain Juppe, the French foreign minister stated that:
”Nato must play its role fully. It wanted to take the lead in operations, we accepted that. It must play its role today which means preventing Gaddafi from using heavy weapons to shell populations,” he said.
But a Dutch Brig Gen Mark Van Uhm in the NATO alliance has stated that NATO was “doing well with the assets we have”.
Even though calls for NATO to ramp up the attacks until Co. Gadaffi is forced to flee the country. However in the passing weeks and months, it appearing more and more that Mr. Gadaffi is extremely intent on staying and taking the flak and in a sense roughing it out and possibly hoping for an end in his favour.
Since the start, the three main countries who took the lead, France, the United Kingdom and the United States have played huge roles in enforcing a no-fly zone and keeping to that UN mandate which also stipulates an arms embargo with the intent of protecting the civilian population.
In a successive blow by UN and French forces in the Ivory Coast, Mr Gbabgo a former president, was arrested. Some speculate whether the same could be done in the same fashion as Gadaffi. – However this would involve the usage of ground troops which the west have resisted in the use of.
