France half-wordly criticizes NATO's foot on the brake
(BRUSSELS2) Faced with statements by the Libyan opposition accusing NATO of abandoning Misrata, Alain Juppé assured, this morning, on France-info, to have " of course the call ". The city of “Misrata is in a situation that cannot last. I'm going to talk about it in a few hours with the Secretary General of NATO. »
This interview should be listened to carefully, with what the Minister says, what he does not say, and the distinctions he gives: on NATO's action today, which is more difficult than yesterday, on support for the CNT, on arms deliveries to the rebels and political discussion. NB: the Minister also commented at length on the action in Côte d'Ivoire. (1)
The second generation of strikes more difficult than the first
The minister also recognized the difficulty of what we can call the second generation of strikes because the situation has changed. " Most of Gaddafi's planes, helicopters and tanks were destroyed. Today, he acts with pick-ups on which there are a few troops armed with Kalashnikovs and machine guns: it is much more difficult to locate (...) On the ground, the military situation is confused and indecisive, and the risk of getting bogged down exists. » (...) “We have formally requested that there be no collateral damage to civilian populations. This makes the intervention more difficult. Because Gaddafi's troops have understood things well and tend to approach the civilian populations. »
Support for the CNT but no reconquest action (direct)
But the Minister of Foreign Affairs recalled the limits of the mandate entrusted by the UN « We support all the efforts of the CNT. But it also needs to be organized. Finally on the ground everything will depend on them. We are there to protect the civilian populations and not to set out to reconquer the territory. »
No arms deliveries but...
Similarly, on the arms embargo, the Minister assured " not to have entered into an arms delivery process ". But he also made a useful distinction ensuring that "The arms embargo is aimed at Jamahiriya Libyan army, that is to say the troops of Gaddafi". In other words, the embargo does not target... the opposition
The political phase must come now
It is necessary " move on to another phase, the political phase. (...) Push the political solution, that is to say discussions between the National Transitional Council and those who, in Tripoli, understood that there was no future for Gaddafi”, concludes the Minister of Foreign Affairs. This will notably be the objective of the meeting in Doha, of the contact group next week, specified the Minister.