NATO Starts Taking Control of Libya Operations

BRUSSELS - NATO on March 30 began to take command of Libyan air bombing operations from a U.S.-led coalition, as warplanes and other assets from several allies came under the military organization's control.

French Air Force Rafale jets, right and center, and a French Air Force Mirage 2000 fighter jet are shown March 30 over the Mediterranean Sea. The jets are taking part in the military Libya operations, soon to be led by NATO. (Gerard Julien / Agence France-Presse)

"NATO aircraft are flying under NATO command in the Libyan sky," NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said.

"This is a phased process, which will be completed as soon as all allies and partners have transferred authority for their assets."
The 28-member alliance is gradually replacing the United States at the helm of aerial missions that have been conducted by U.S., French, British and other coalition planes since March 19 to protect civilians from Moammar Gadhafi's ground forces.
Britain, Canada, Belgium, Denmark, Spain and the Netherlands placed all or part of their military assets under NATO's authority on March 30, an alliance official said on condition of anonymity.
NATO's combined air operations centre in Poggio Renatico, northern Italy, transmitted flight plans to units involved in the aerial campaign, the official said.
A NATO diplomat has said that the alliance would effectively be in full command of the operations on March 31.
NATO has enforced an arms embargo off Libya's coast since last week and also is policing Libya's skies to prevent hostile jets from flying.
NATO agreed to take on the broader mission - strikes against forces threatening civilians - on March 27 after overcoming Turkish concerns about the air strikes and French reluctance to hand the lead to the alliance.

Solution for Piracy 'Scourge' Remains Elusive

The international maritime community has worked together on a number of issues to beat back the threat from Somali-based pirates, a U.S. State Department official said March 30, yet the number of attacks continues to rise.
"We are intensely reviewing our anti-piracy efforts," Andrew Shapiro, assistant secretary for political-military affairs, told a Washington audience. "We are looking into many possible courses of action."

Shapiro ticked off several areas where the U.S. is searching for new or expanded actions.
"We must get a handle on the prosecution problem," he said. "The United States is now willing to consider pursuing some creative and innovative ways to go beyond ordinary national prosecutions, and enhance our ability to prosecute and incarcerate pirates in a timely and cost-effective manner."
In international forums, the U.S. is suggesting the creation of a "specialized piracy court or chamber" - in one or more regional states -to bring accused pirates to trial, Shapiro said, and is exploring ways "to expand incarceration capacity in the region."
The "lack of prison capacity is perhaps the most common reason nations decline to prosecute," he added, while the idea of a piracy court has been put forward in the Security Council at the United Nations.
A key focus, he said, is "to start targeting the higher financiers who are responsible" for the pirate gangs. "That is something we are going to make a priority."
"There are a lot of lessons to be learned from in the organized crime example that we think are applicable to pirates," Shapiro told a reporter after his address, sponsored by the International Institute for Strategic Studies. "The goal is to move the necessary resources and lessons learned to attack the people who are benefiting from this."
Shapiro noted the effectiveness of privately hired armed guards on board merchant ships in deterring the pirates. "Not a single ship employing armed guards has been successfully pirated," he said.
Ships declining to comply with recommended security measures are particularly at risk, Shapiro said. "About 20 percent of ships off the Horn of Africa are not taking proper security actions. These 20 percent account for the overwhelming number of pirated ships."
Ransom payments encourage pirates to continue their activities, Shapiro said. "We continue to urge against paying ransom," he said, noting it only "makes piracy an increasingly lucrative proposition."

To-Date Costs of Libya Strikes: $550M

WASHINGTON - U.S. military strikes on Libya have cost $550 million so far, the Pentagon said March 29, adding that the tab was likely to increase another $40 million in the next few weeks.

A Harrier jet aircraft assigned to the U.S. Marine Corps’ 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit returns to the amphibious assault ship Kearsarge for fuel and ammunition resupply on March 21 while conducting air strikes in Libya. (Lance Cpl. Michael S. Lockett / U.S. Marine Corps)

Between March 19 and 28, the Defense Department spent more than 60 percent of the funds on munitions, such as missiles and bombs, with the rest going toward deploying troops and covering the costs of combat, including additional fuel needed for U.S. aircraft and ships.

U.S. troops fired at least 192 of the 199 Tomahawk cruise missiles launched against Libyan air defenses and command centers.
Each Tomahawk missile costs about $1.5 million, NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe Adm. James Stavridis told a congressional hearing, bringing total expenditures for munitions alone to nearly $300 million.
The United States has also launched 455 of the 602 laser-guided weapons used by the coalition over the same period.
"Future costs are highly uncertain," said Navy Cmdr. Kathleen Kesler, a Pentagon spokeswoman.
Kesler estimated the Pentagon would spend another $40 million over the next three weeks as NATO assumes full control of coalition operations from the United States and U.S. forces gradually reduce their presence.
"After that, if U.S. forces stay at the levels currently planned and the operations continues, we would incur added costs of about $40 million per month," she told AFP.
U.S. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead said last week that the operational costs in Libya were negligible.
"Because we're not mobilizing or sending more forces forward, all of these are relatively minor increases in costs," he said, adding that the United States would easily replenish its stock of Tomahawk missiles, which currently counts 3,000 such munitions.