LONDON — Qatar has contributed French-origin fighter-jets for the NATO air
mission on Libya. The Gulf Cooperation Council emirate was joining the
operation in coordination with France, designated as the likely leader of
the NATO mission.
"Qatar is participating in the military action because it is necessary
for Arab states to take part," Qatari Foreign Minister Hamad Bin Jassim Al
Thani said.
This would mark the first direct Arab participation in the Western-led
combat mission against Libya. Only NATO states, including Belgium,
Britain, France, Italy and the United States, had participated in air and
missile strikes against the regime of Libyan Col. Moammar Gadhafi. The
strikes were said to have targeted Libyan air defense batteries as well as
Gadhafi's compound.
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"What is happening now is not an intervention," GCC secretary-general
Abdul Rahman Bin Hamad Al Attiyah said. "It is about protecting the people
from bloodshed."
Qatar has a fleet of French-origin Mirage 2000-5 fighter-jets, produced
by Dassault Aviation. Officials said four unidentified Qatari fighter-jets,
believed to be Mirage 2000-5s, were already
operating in Libya.
"We should already start thinking about the post-Gadhafi era," Belgian
Defense Minister Pieter De Crem said. "This is not just about removing
Gadhafi, but also about giving the Libyans the chance to build a democratic
society."
But the United States has stressed that it did not seek the ouster of
Gadhafi. Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staffs,
said the NATO campaign remained limited and could allow Gadhafi to remain
in power.
"It isn't about seeing him [Gadhafi] go." Mullen said in a television
interview.
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