The administration of President Barack Obama ordered a halt to all
military contacts with the Libyan regime of Col. Moammar Gadhafi. Officials
said contacts were severed in late February amid the revolt in the
North African state.
"What limited military relationships we had with the Gadhafi government
are at an end," Defense Secretary Robert Gates said.
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In a briefing on March 1, Gates did not detail the military relationship
between Tripoli and Washington, Middle East Newsline reported. But other officials said the contacts
focused on counter-insurgency, particularly Al Qaida, but also discussed
plans for U.S. training of Libyan forces.
Officials said U.S. military cooperation with Libya was intensified in
2010. They said the administration had also been examining a range of
weapons requests from Gadhafi.
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Michael Mullen, said the
military has sought to maintain cooperation with Libya's neighbor Egypt. The
administration has approved $1.3 billion in U.S. military aid to Egypt for
fiscal 2011.
"I've engaged, you know, my counterpart in Egypt a number of times,"
Mullen said. "They greatly appreciate the relationship. They're working
their way through this, and they appreciate the support."