Reply #69: NATO balks at Libya nation-building, policing

[tabatha]

Wednesday, September 14, 2011
BRUSSELS --
NATO, which has been bogged down for nearly 10 years in Afghanistan and more than 12 in Kosovo, is desperately seeking a mission it can end, quickly, cleanly and for good.

So at the top levels of the military alliance there is great eagerness to wrap up the Libyan air campaign as soon as possible, and great reluctance to get involved in nation-building or policing now that the country's former leader, Moammar Gadhafi, has fallen from power.

"We must end this Libyan business quickly," one senior military officer told The Associated Press. "We just cannot afford this proliferation of missions which just drag on and on. One needs to finally end."

Several other senior military officers expressed the same concern, saying NATO could not afford another longterm engagement at a time of deep cuts in defense budgets. All spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

http://www.cfnews13.com/article/news/ap/september/311952/NATO-balks-at-Libya-nationbuilding-policing