Rebels Resume Advance West
Libyan Insurgents Gain as Gadhafi Forces Fall Back; NATO Takes Over Raids
SAM DAGHER
WSJ's Stephen Fidler reports NATO airstrikes have given Libyan rebels an extra boost in their efforts to take over northern cities. Also, a report on contaminated water at Japan's Fukushima plant. And, effects on the export-driven U.S. economy.
Libyan rebels amassed on Monday near Col. Moammar Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte, as international airstrikes that started more than a week ago helped them make rapid gains over the weekend and revived their efforts to march on Tripoli.
The rebels' rapid advance came as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization took full command from the United Nations of all international military operations in and around the country, after an agreement over the weekend.
The standoff near Sirte, 285 miles (459 kilometers) east of the capital, has followed quickly upon the rebels' retaking of the strategic oil towns of Brega and Ras Lanuf on Sunday, and the eastern gateway city Ajdabiya the previous day.
After a week of heated negotiations over the command structure for foreign military operations in Libya, NATO has agreed to take full command. Video courtesy of Reuters. Photo courtesy of Associated Press.
Libya's revolutionaries reach the oil town of Brega, while newly released footage shows coalition forces bombarding government forces, aiding the rebels' advance. Video courtesy of Reuters.
The fate of the symbolic and strategically-located town of Sirte, analysts say, will help clarify what happens next in Libya. If rebels can push through the town, they will have a relatively clear road to Tripoli. A defeat in Sirte, on the other hand, could lead to stalemate.
Underscoring the potentially formidable challenge facing rebels in Sirte, a person close to the Libyan military command told the Wall Street Journal on Sunday that reinforcements have already been sent to Sirte from the southern towns of Sebha, Waddan and Al-Jufra.
Al Jazeera International on Monday showed live footage of rebels backed up on a road in an area known as Al-Nawfaliya outside Sirte. A column of vehicles belonging to Col. Gadhafi's forces could be seen patrolling a hill in the distance.
On Edge in Libya
Track the latest events in the fight for Libya.
Moammar Gadhafi's Libya
See some key dates in Col. Gadhafi's nearly 42-year reign.
Middle East Turmoil
Track daily events in Middle Eastern countries.
On Sunday, Libyan state television said both Sirte and Tripoli were being hit by a "Crusader imperialist bombardment." Several massive explosions were heard in Tripoli and two residents said on Monday that two bases for the Khamis Brigade located southeast of the city were hit.
These same bases, Tikbali and Yarmouk, were struck in previous airstrikes by the coalition. The Khamis Brigade, headed by one of Col. Gadhafi's sons, is one of the best-equipped and trained units of the Libyan military. It has led several offensives in recent weeks against rebels
Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim on Sunday downplayed the rebels' recent gains. "I assure you that we are still strong on the ground and we are still holding locations," he said.
The rebel-held town of Misrata, which lies between Sirte and Tripoli, would be the last contested town before the capital, and has since the start of the uprising witnessed fierce fighting between the two sides. Government officials on Monday were preparing to take foreign journalists to the city to show that it has been liberated by the government. But people on the ground said Misrata remains largely under the control of rebels.
A rebel leader in Misrata told the Wall Street Journal that the government controlled only one street—Tripoli Street—and that government forces have been weakened by coalition attacks on troops and tanks congregating on the northwestern outskirts of Misrata, near Al-Dafinya. Coalition forces also struck a big grain market south of Misrata on Saturday where troops were staying, said the leader, a doctor by the name of Aiman Abu-Bakr.
Mr. Abu-Bakr said the rebels in Misrata were in daily contact with the Interim National Transitional Council, the political representative of the rebels based in the eastern stronghold of Benghazi. Opposition forces in Misrata Monday received a boat of weapons and ammunition from Benghazi, and received three boats on Sunday. At the moment, they are waiting for Sirte to fall into rebel hands.
"Sirte will be a huge blow for the regime," Mr. Abu-Bakr said. "It will be a very, very big push for the rebels," he said.
The rebel movement received a diplomatic boost from Qatar Monday, after the country recognized the transitional council as "the sole legitimate representative of the Libyan people," according to Qatari officials.
Since the antigovernment protests in Tunisia back in December, Qatar has been leading the region in its support for a wave of popular uprisings, through its government-financed Al Jazeera news channel and through humanitarian and other aid missions. In the Libya conflict, Qatar has financed medical relief shipments to the besieged city of Misrata as well as Benghazi and committed fighter jets to enforce the United Nations-backed no-fly zone.
![[SB10001424052748704471904576228590288186956]](http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/OB-NG543_0328li_D_20110328101533.jpg)
The U.S. involvement in the allied offensive over Libya is attracting criticism from conservatives and liberals alike, with many wondering what the U.S. is trying to achieve in the north African nation. WSJ's Neil Hickey reports from Washington.
The NATO decision over the weekend frees up the U.S. to play a more subordinate role in the operations, and extends NATO's responsibilities to cover the protection of civilians beyond its existing task of enforcing a no-fly zone and an arms embargo. But it doesn't change the nature of the military mission in Libya.
The hope for the West is that a continuation of military pressure on Col. Gadhafi's forces, even at somewhat lower levels in coming days, combined with continued forward movement by the rebels, will be enough to make the Libyan army either buckle or turn on the Libyan leader. That would produce the outcome the West hopes for—the removal of Col. Gadhafi—but one that isn't the explicit goal of the military operation.
U.S. President Barack Obama in a speech on Monday will address U.S. involvement in Libya, a day after Defense Secretary Robert Gates downplayed Libya's role in U.S. affairs, even as he and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sought to defend U.S. military action there.
"I don't think it's a vital interest of the United States, but we clearly have an interest there," Mr. Gates said in an appearance on the NBC News program, "Meet the Press" as part of a round of appearances on Sunday morning talk shows. He said he couldn't be sure NATO would have finished its mission by the year-end, saying: "I don't think anybody knows that."
Mr. Gates' comments on Sunday could provoke more questioning from Capitol Hill about U.S. objectives in Libya. "I was startled to hear Secretary Gates say that Libya was not in our vital interest," said Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana, the ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "I personally don't think we should be engaged in a Libyan civil war."
Reducing the U.S. military footprint is a key goal of the Obama administration, which insisted its role would be circumscribed and employed in concert with international allies. The White House has been wary about embarking on a third war and wanted to avoid being seen as fighting in a third Muslim country, after Afghanistan and Iraq. Many on Capitol Hill, including some Democrats, have contrasted the seemingly ambitious goals—removing Col. Gadhafi—with the limited use of U.S. forces.
Mr. Gates said on NBC Sunday that the U.S. wouldn't take out Col. Gadhafi using military means, but stressed that the U.S. and allied countries are employing other measures, including economic sanctions, to pressure the regime. The U.S. hope is that these measures, combined with NATO air power, will be enough to turn the tide militarily, analysts said. The lack of professionalism in the Libyan military, and especially its banishment from the corridors of power after an abortive 1993 coup attempt, increase the chances of further defections by senior commanders, which could speed the regime's demise.
U.S. officials acknowledge the limits of air power in fighting such a battle. Slobodan Milosevic withstood 78 days of NATO bombardment largely intact. Saddam Hussein endured a no-fly zone and a no-drive zone in large parts of Iraq for more than a decade after the 1991 war, and stayed firmly in power.
British defense secretary Liam Fox told the BBC that targeting Col. Gadhafi wasn't part of the mission. "Losing Gadhafi is an aspiration. It's not part of the U.N. resolution," he said.
In Mr. Obama's address Monday night, he is expected to discuss why the situation required U.S. intervention, as well as what level of involvement American forces will maintain in the future. Mr. Obama will also try to convince the public that there is an end game in Libya, an administration official said Sunday.
Speaking after the NATO decision to take command on Sunday, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO Secretary-General, said the alliance's actions would be guided by the United Nations Security Council resolution passed on March 17 to defend civilians, "nothing more, nothing less."
A senior U.S. official said civilians would be protected whether they were being threatened by government forces or by the opposition, potentially putting NATO in the position in the future of attacking rebel forces if they were threatening civilians.
Libyan officials in Tripoli said little about Sunday's developments, focusing instead on a regime-organized event they have dubbed "the national reunion march" to the rebel-stronghold of Benghazi in the east. Participants were congregating in Sirte. Hundreds of men, women and children and some tribal elders, almost all of them regime loyalists, were sent to Sirte by coach buses and boat from Tripoli and other western cities.
Libyan officials have portrayed the march as a neutral effort by tribal elders in the west to start peace talks with their counterparts in the east and have expressed fears that these "civilians" might be attacked by rebels and coalition forces.
In the besieged city of Misrata, about 125 miles east of Tripoli, rebels said allied forces bombarded early on Sunday several locations for Col. Gadhafi's troops around the city but couldn't provide details.
A rebel, who only gave his first name, Ahmed, said Col. Gadhafi's forces continued their push to make inroads into the city center, triggering sporadic clashes with rebels especially on the western side. "We are hoping for the best," he said.
Foreign journalists have been prevented from going to Misrata, Libya's third-largest city and a key commercial hub. The government says it controls much of the city and that it is fighting a band of extremists who have wedged themselves among civilians. Coalition forces have repeatedly hit the air-force academy and airport south of the city where a large contingent of government troops was based.
No comments:
Post a Comment