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NATO Not Planning to Interfere in Libya

   VOA News  February 24, 2011
   NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Thursday that the
   U.S.-led  alliance  had  no  plans to intervene in Libya, February 24,
   2011

Photo: Reuters

   NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Thursday that the
   U.S.-led  alliance  had  no  plans to intervene in Libya, February 24,
   2011

   NATO  Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen says the alliance has no
   plans to intervene in the unrest in Libya.
   Speaking  in  Ukraine  Thursday,  Rasmussen  said NATO has received no
   request  for  such  an intervention, and stressed that any action NATO
   does take should be based on a United Nations mandate.
   Rasmussen  said  the  situation in Libya does not threaten NATO or any
   NATO allies, but he added it could cause a refugee crisis.
   Libyan  leader  Moammar  Gadhafi is facing international pressure over
   his government's violent crackdown against protesters.
   The  European  Union  has  already  decided  to  prepare new sanctions
   against Libya, and the U.S. has said it is also considering sanctions.
   But neither has officially suggested using force.
   U.S.  President  Barack  Obama  said Wednesday that he has ordered his
   national  security  team  to  prepare  "a  full  range of options" for
   dealing with the crisis.
   President  Obama  said  the  crackdown in Libya violates international
   norms   and   called  the  suffering  and  bloodshed  "outrageous  and
   unacceptable."  Mr.  Obama  said  it is "imperative the nations of the
   world speak with one voice" about the situation.
   Mr.  Obama  said he was dispatching Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
   to  Geneva  for  international  talks aimed at stopping the crackdown.
   Clinton  said Wednesday that Washington's foremost concern must be the
   safety  and  security  of  its  citizens, indicating all measures were
   being taken to assist in their evacuation from Libya.
   Meanwhile,  the  U.S.-based  SITE  monitoring group said Thursday that
   al-Qaida's  North  African  branch  has  issued a statement expressing