Laughing Dog Gaddafi - Libya war: Germans pull forces out of NATO as Libyan coalition falls apart

Libya war: Germans pull forces out of NATO as Libyan coalition falls apart | Mail Online

Who's in charge? Germans pull forces out of NATO as Libyan coalition falls apart

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER 23rd March 2011

• Tensions with Britain as Gates rebukes UK government over suggestion Gaddafi could be assassinated
• French propose a new political 'committee' to oversee operations
  
• Germany pulls equipment out of NATO coalition over disagreement over campaign's direction
  
• Italians accuse French of backing NATO in exchange for oil contracts
  
• No-fly zone called into question after first wave of strikes 'neutralises' Libyan military machine
• U.K. ministers say war could last '30 years'
  
• Italy to 'take back control' of bases used by allies unless NATO leadership put in charge of the mission
  
• Russians tell U.S. to stop bombing in order to protect civilians - calls bombing a 'crusade'
  

Deep divisions between allied forces currently bombing Libya worsened today as the German military announced it was pulling forces out of NATO over continued disagreement on who will lead the campaign.

A German military spokesman said it was recalling two frigates and AWACS surveillance plane crews from the Mediterranean, after fears they would be drawn into the conflict if NATO takes over control from the U.S.

The infighting comes as a heated meeting of NATO ambassadors yesterday failed to resolve whether the 28-nation alliance should run the operation to enforce a U.N.-mandated no-fly zone, diplomats said.

Yesterday a war of words erupted between the U.S. and Britain after the U.K. government claimed Muammar Gaddafi is a legitimate target for assassination.

U.K. government officials said killing the Libyan leader would be legal if it prevented civilian deaths as laid out in a U.N. resolution.

But U.S. defence secretary Robert Gates hit back at the suggestion, saying it would be 'unwise' to target the Libyan leader adding cryptically that the bombing campaign should stick to the 'U.N. mandate'.

....

The President hit back in a two-page letter to Congress and again reiterated his claim that while Gaddafi must go, the U.S. was only in Libya to enforce the no-fly zone for the protection of civilians.

France has already taken a leading role in the conflict, with President Nicolas Sarkozy hosting a summit in Paris over the weekend and French bombers being the first to enforce the no-fly zone.

More...

• Sexually assaulted and told 'You'll die tonight'... but spared as she's American: Female journalist's horror at the hands of Gaddafi's men
• For the sins of his father: Gaddafi's son 'killed in kamikaze pilot attack on barracks'
• For all the malice of their orders from Tripoli, I feel sympathy for the men snuffed out so efficiently
• Mission aborted on orders of SAS: RAF attack is halted after troops spot human shields
• Britain's top general shot down by No.10: War of words erupts as Army chief says we have no legal right to kill Gaddafi
• JOHN R BRADLEY: Why Arab League isn't taken seriously

Last night Britain's top general was embroiled in an extraordinary clash with Downing Street over the legality of a strike to kill Gaddafi.

No 10 slapped down Chief of the Defence Staff General Sir David Richards after he flatly rejected ministers’ suggestions that the Libyan dictator was a legitimate target for assassination.

Downing Street and Foreign Office officials were quick to dispute that – saying assassinating Gaddafi would be legal because it would preserve civilian lives in Libya.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1368693/Libya-war-Germans-pull-forces-NATO-Libyan-coalition-falls-apart.html#ixzz1HSKmi22b