World leaders launch

Continued from page 1 col. 8 The United States, Britain, France and 19 other participants in an emergency summit in Paris Saturday "agreed to put in place all the means necessary, in particular military" to make Gaddafi respect a U.N. Security Council resolution Thursday demanding a cease-fire, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said. "In accord with our partners, our air forces will oppose any aggression by Col. Gaddafi's airplanes against the population of Benghazi. Already, our planes are preventing air attacks against the city. Already, other French planes are ready to intervene against tanks that would threaten unarmed civilians," Sarkozy said in a brief declaration. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was also at Saturday's summit and was expected to speak later Saturday. British Prime Minister David Cameron said after the summit: "The time for action has come, it needs to be urgent." Several countries clarified their possible participation in any armed intervention, laying out how long it would take for national forces to join in air strikes or surveillance overflights. France, Britain and the United States had warned Gaddafi Friday that they would resort to military means if he ignored the U.N. resolution. Sarkozy acknowledged the risks of the operation, and insisted it did not amount to an international occupation force. "There is still time for Col. Gaddafi to avoid the worst by complying without delay and without reservations to all the demands of the international community. The door of diplomacy will reopen at the moment when the aggressions cease," Sarkozy said. A communique from the summit participants, referring to the U.N. Security Council resolution, said: "Our commitment is for the long term: we will not let Colonel Gaddafi and his regime go on defying the will of the international community and scorning that of his people. "We will continue our aid to the Libyans so that they can rebuild their country, fully respecting Libya's sovereignty and territorial integrity." With the leaders meeting in Paris, the international military buildup mounted in the region. Six Danish F-16 fighter jets landed Saturday at the U.S. air base in Sicily, and American F-18s and Canadian CF-18 Hornets were in the region. A senior U.S. official said Clinton has been following developments in Libya closely, and that "everybody recognizes the urgency of the situation." "We've made clear what our expectations are and we have also made clear that the international community is prepared to act if (Gaddafi) doesn't meet those expectations," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of a delicacy of the situation. France, Britain and the United States were among the major backers of a muscular U.N. Security Council resolution passed Thursday that authorizes a no-fly zone over Libya and "all necessary measures" to protect civilians. Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon were in Paris along with Qatar's emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani and foreign ministers of Jordan, Moroccan and the United Arab Emirates. Italy has offered the use of seven air and navy bases already housing U.S., NATO and Italian forces. Sigonella's size and close proximity to Libya makes it a key staging point.