Air strikes against Libyan government targets should slow in the coming days, the U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said, as the alliance suffered its first set-back on Monday night when an American warplane crash landed in northeast Libya.
“The significant military fighting that has been going on should recede in the next few days,” Gates said at press conference in Moscow on Tuesday.
The Defense Secretary gave the conference at a press conference in Moscow, where only the day before Prime Minister Vladimir Putin surprised U.S. officials with criticism over the military intervention in Libya.
China, India and Brazil—who abstained from a U.N. vote on the issue—have called for a ceasefire because of concerns over civilian casualties.
Libyan state television have accused the “crusader” alliance of U.S., French and British forces for causing mass casualties. Gates dismissed the accusation on Tuesday.
“It is perfectly evident that the vast majority, if not nearly all, civilian casualties have been inflicted by Gaddafi,” he said. “Virtually all of our targets are isolated non-populated areas ... and we’ve been very careful about this.
“It’s almost as though some people here are taking at face value Gaddafi’s claims about the number of civilian casualties, which, as far as I’m concerned, it’s just outright lies,” he added.
On Monday night, a U.S. F-15E Eagle jet crash-landed in northeast Libya, which U.S. officials have blamed on mechanical failure.
Two pilots on board the plane were ejected and neither suffered major injuries, several news media reported.
President Barack Obama said during a trip to Chile that the U.S. would be “one of the partners among many” and would hand over coordination to coalition partners “in a matter of days and not a matter of weeks.”
However, it remains unclear who would assume control of the campaign. Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron has pushed for NATO to assume charge, but French foreign minister, Alain Juppé said that the role of the organization would be opposed by the Arab League on the principle that it would appear to be a foreign military occupation.
Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, representing NATO'S only predominantly Muslim country, has called for the United Nations to have authority for an entirely humanitarian operation.
“The significant military fighting that has been going on should recede in the next few days,” Gates said at press conference in Moscow on Tuesday.
The Defense Secretary gave the conference at a press conference in Moscow, where only the day before Prime Minister Vladimir Putin surprised U.S. officials with criticism over the military intervention in Libya.
China, India and Brazil—who abstained from a U.N. vote on the issue—have called for a ceasefire because of concerns over civilian casualties.
Libyan state television have accused the “crusader” alliance of U.S., French and British forces for causing mass casualties. Gates dismissed the accusation on Tuesday.
“It is perfectly evident that the vast majority, if not nearly all, civilian casualties have been inflicted by Gaddafi,” he said. “Virtually all of our targets are isolated non-populated areas ... and we’ve been very careful about this.
“It’s almost as though some people here are taking at face value Gaddafi’s claims about the number of civilian casualties, which, as far as I’m concerned, it’s just outright lies,” he added.
On Monday night, a U.S. F-15E Eagle jet crash-landed in northeast Libya, which U.S. officials have blamed on mechanical failure.
Two pilots on board the plane were ejected and neither suffered major injuries, several news media reported.
President Barack Obama said during a trip to Chile that the U.S. would be “one of the partners among many” and would hand over coordination to coalition partners “in a matter of days and not a matter of weeks.”
However, it remains unclear who would assume control of the campaign. Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron has pushed for NATO to assume charge, but French foreign minister, Alain Juppé said that the role of the organization would be opposed by the Arab League on the principle that it would appear to be a foreign military occupation.
Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, representing NATO'S only predominantly Muslim country, has called for the United Nations to have authority for an entirely humanitarian operation.
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