NATO takes sole control of Libya air operations

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BRUSSELS, Mar 31 (AP): NATO's chief said Thursday the alliance doesn't support US and British suggestions that the UN mandate for the international military operation in Libya allows arming rebels who are fighting Moammar Gaddafi's troops. NATO assumed command of all air operations over Libya early Thursday, taking over from the US, which had been eager to be rid of that responsibility. NATO Chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen told reporters in Stockholm that NATO's position is that "we are there to protect the Libyan people, not to arm the people." Britain and the US believe that existing UN Security Council resolutions on Libya could allow for foreign governments to arm the rebels, despite an arms embargo being in place. The NATO secretary-general said he has "taken note of the ongoing discussions in a number of countries but as far as NATO is concerned ... we will focus on the enforcement of the arms embargo." Fogh Rasmussen said the transition to its command was completed at 0600 GMT (2 a.m. EDT) Thursday, giving NATO sole responsibility for all aerial and naval operations in the region. A rebellion against Gaddafi's 42-year rule erupted last month, and international forces including the U.S., France and Britain stepped in March 19, just as it appeared Gaddafi was on the verge of crushing the revolt. Gaddafi's forces were heavily bombarded, effectively turning the U.S.-led air assaults into an unacknowledged aerial arm of the ragtag rebel force fighting the government's army. The NATO operation - code named Unified Protector - includes enforcement the U.N. Security Council resolution mandating an arms embargo on Libya, enforcement of a no-fly zone and the protection of civilians from Gaddafi's troops. The takeover comes at a sensitive moment in the war between the rebels and loyalist forces. On Wednesday, Gaddafi's ground troops recaptured a strategic oil town and moved within striking distance of another major eastern city, nearly reversing the gains rebels made since the international airstrikes began. Meanwhile, while the White House debates whether to arm rebels battling Moammar Gaddafi's troops, US officials have acknowledged that the CIA has sent small teams of operatives into Libya and helped rescue a crew member of a US fighter jet that crashed. Battlefield setbacks are hardening the US view that the poorly equipped opposition probably is incapable of prevailing without decisive Western intervention, a senior US intelligence official said. Still, White House press secretary Jay Carney said Wednesday: "No decision has been made about providing arms to the opposition or to any groups in Libya. We're not ruling it out or ruling it in."