U.S. military: Libya vote won't impact Japan mission

Todd Eastham

Reuters - The U.S. military said a vote by the U.N. Security Council on Thursday authorizing a no-fly zone over Libya would not negatively impact its massive relief mission in Japan.

The assurance was given just hours after the U.N. vote by the head of U.S. forces in the Pacific region, Admiral Robert Willard, who also said the U.S. armed forces had a "long list" of capabilities to help Japan deal with its nuclear crisis.

"We don't anticipate any negative effects from the standpoint of the United (Nations) Security Council actions today," Willard said, briefing reporters at the Pentagon remotely from his headquarters in Hawaii.

Willard said the United States was fortunate to have enough forces deployed overseas "so that we can conduct these kind of operations simultaneously."

The U.S. relief operation outstrips even last year's effort in Haiti, with 20 ships already offshore around Japan and U.S. forces on the mainland mobilizing to deliver aid.

"I would offer that I have additional options to bring either relieving forces in or augmentation forces to bear if I need to," Willard said. "So I think we were in a good posture to begin with."

The Security Council vote could thrust the U.S. military into risky new overseas action and follows a dramatic pivot by Washington, which had been accused of moving too slowly to support Libyan rebels as Muammar Gaddafi's forces looked poised to snuff out their uprising.

The Pentagon, already stretched by the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, is still ramping up its relief efforts in Japan, which beyond delivering food and water to survivors has also including providing Japan with radiation data and aerial video of the crippled Fukushima power plant.

Japanese engineers were racing to restore a power cable to the quake-ravaged nuclear power plant in hopes of restarting pumps needed to pour cold water on overheating fuel rods and avert a catastrophic release of radiation.

Willard said he was cautiously optimistic, and added the United States had provided the Japanese military with "a long list of areas in which we believe we can help."

The Pentagon has already dispatched a nine-member team specializing in biological and nuclear hazards to advise Japan's military. More could be deployed, if necessary.

"I have requested a force of about 450 radiological and consequence management experts to be available to us. They're on a prepare-to-deploy order," Willard said.

U.N. okays military action on Libya

Security Council members vote on a Libyan resolution during a Security Council Meeting at U.N. headquarters in New York March 17, 2011.
China, Brazil, Russia, India and Germany abstained from the vote.

By Maria Golovnina and Patrick Worsnip
TRIPOLI/UNITED NATIONS

Reuters - The United Nations authorized military strikes to curb Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, hours after he threatened to storm the rebel bastion of Benghazi overnight, showing "no mercy, no pity."

"We will come. House by house, room by room," Gaddafi said in a radio address to the eastern city late on Thursday.

Al Jazeera television showed thousands of people listening to the speech in a central Benghazi square, then erupting in celebration after the U.N. vote, waving anti-Gaddafi tricolors and chanting defiance of the man who has ruled for four decades.

Fireworks burst over the city and gunfire rang out.

The U.N. Security Council, meeting in emergency session, passed a resolution endorsing a no-fly zone to halt government troops now around 100 km (60 miles) from Benghazi. It also authorized "all necessary measures" -- code for military action -- to protect civilians against Gaddafi's forces.

But time was clearly running short for the city that has been the heart of Libya's month-old revolution.

French diplomatic sources said military action could follow within hours, and could include France, Britain and possibly the United States and one or more Arab states; but a U.S. military official said no immediate U.S. action was expected.

While other countries or NATO may play roles in military action, U.S. officials expect the United States with its extensive air and sea forces would do the heavy lifting in a campaign that may include airstrikes on tanks and artillery.

Gaddafi warned Benghazi residents that only those who lay down their arms before his advancing troops would be spared the vengeance awaiting 'rats and dogs'.

"It's over. The issue has been decided," Gaddafi said. "We are coming tonight...We will find you in your closets.

"We will have no mercy and no pity."

Residents said the Libyan air force unleashed three air raids on the city of 670,000 on Thursday and there has been fierce fighting along the Mediterranean coastal highway.

Ten of the Council's 15 member states voted in favor of the resolution, with Russia, China and Germany among the five that abstained. There were no votes against the resolution, which was co-sponsored by France, Britain, Lebanon and the United States.

Apart from military action, it expands sanctions against Gaddafi and associates imposed last month. Among firms whose assets it orders frozen are the Libyan National Oil Corp and the central bank.

U.S. President Barack Obama called British and French counterparts David Cameron and Nicolas Sarkozy and agreed to coordinate closely on their next steps.

Libya said the resolution, which also demands a ceasefire by government forces, was not worth the paper it was written on.

Rebel National Council head Mustafa Abdel Jalil told Al Jazeera television air strikes, beyond the no-fly zone, were essential to stop Gaddafi.

"We stand on firm ground. We will not be intimidated by these lies and claims... We will not settle for anything but liberation from this regime."

It was unclear if Gaddafi's threat to seize the city in the night was anything more than bluster. But at the very least it increased the sense that a decisive moment had arrived in an uprising that only months ago had seemed inconceivable.

Some in the Arab world sense a Gaddafi victory could turn the tide in the region, weakening pro-democracy movements that have unseated autocrats in Tunisia and Egypt and raised mass protests in Bahrain, Yemen and elsewhere.

Gaddafi's Defense Ministry warned of swift retaliation, even beyond Libyan frontiers, to any military action against the oil-exporting nation.

"Any foreign military act against Libya will expose all air and maritime traffic in the Mediterranean Sea to danger and civilian and military (facilities) will become targets of Libya's counter-attack," the ministry said in a statement.

RETALIATION

John Drake, senior risk consultant at UK-based consultancy AKE said he did not think Gaddafi would strike against oil facilities or oil companies. "He would be hurting himself."

"We don't think they have the capability to impose a no-fly zone over the whole country immediately, although they could try to impose one over Benghazi and maybe also Tripoli," he said.

Proposals for action could include no-fly and no-drive zones, a maritime exclusion zone, jamming army communications and intelligence help. Air strikes would almost certainly be launched to knock out Libyan radar and air defenses.

An Italian government source told Reuters Italy was ready to make its military bases available. The airbase at Sigonella in Sicily, which provides logistical support for the United States Sixth Fleet, is one of the closest NATO bases to Libya.

Past no-fly zones have had mixed success.

The U.N. imposed a no-fly zone over Bosnia in the 1990s, although some analysts say the measure did nothing to stop massacres such as the 1995 slaughter of more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys in the town of Srebrenica.

Former British foreign minister David Owen saw the vote as reflecting a serious division in NATO and the EU, with Germany abstaining and declaring that the venture carried "considerable dangers and risks."

"It's very late for this no-fly zone," Owen said. "Gaddafi's forces are very close to Benghazi and may now push on."

The resolution followed a sharp shift in tone by the United States, which had resisted calls to military action. Diplomats said Washington's change of mind was influenced by an appeal to action by the Arab league and the prospect of a Gaddafi government flush with oil wealth fomenting unrest in the region.

"Mission creep" poses a serious danger. Western powers, chastened by protracted wars in two other Muslim countries, Afghanistan and Iraq, would be wary of getting drawn into any ground action in Libya.

Rebels have retreated over the last two weeks as Gaddafi, dubbed the 'mad dog of the Middle East' by president Ronald Reagan in 1986, has brought air power and heavy armor to bear.

AIR STRIKES

Residential areas of Ajdabiyah, a strategic town on the coast road to Benghazi, were the scene of heavy fighting on Thursday and around 30 people were killed, Al Arabiya reported.

On the approaches to Ajdabiyah, burned-out cars lay by the roadside while Libyan government forces showed the foreign media artillery, tanks and mobile rocket launchers -- much heavier weapons than those used by the rebels.

In Libya's third city, Misrata, about 200 km (130 miles) east of Tripoli, rebels and residents said they were preparing for a new attack by Libyan troops, who had shelled the coastal city overnight. A government spokesman said Gaddafi's forces expected to be in control of Misrata by Friday morning.

(Additional reporting by a Reuters reporter in Benghazi, Michael Georgy in Tripoli, Mariam Karouny and Tarek Amara in Tunisia, Louis Charbonneau and Patrick Worsnip at the United Nations, John Irish in Paris; Writing by Ralph Boulton; Editing by Michael Roddy)

U.N. council approves no-fly zone over Libya

United Nations Security Council diplomats vote on a resolution during a meeting on Libya at U.N. headquarters in New York February 26, 2011.

By Louis Charbonneau and Patrick Worsnip

UNITED NATIONS

Reuters - The U.N. Security Council voted on Thursday to authorize a no-fly zone over Libya and "all necessary measures" -- code for military action -- to protect civilians against leader Muammar Gaddafi's forces.

Ten of the council's 15 member states voted in favor of the resolution, with Russia, China, Germany, India and Brazil abstaining. The resolution was co-sponsored by France, Britain, Lebanon and, in a recent move, by the United States.

The adoption of the resolution after days of closed-door negotiations could lead to a dramatic escalation of international involvement in a conflict that erupted last month between Gaddafi loyalists and rebels trying to topple him.

A French diplomatic source said in Paris ahead of the vote that any military action could involve France, Britain, possibly the United States and one or more Arab states. The Arab League had requested that the no-fly zone be imposed.

The resolution clears the way for enforcement potentially to begin immediately and the French source said it could start within several hours. A U.S. military official, however, said no immediate U.S. action was expected following the vote.

Anti-Gaddafi protesters in Benghazi cheered and set off fireworks to celebrate the vote, Al Jazeera television showed.

Libya's defense minister warned any attack on his country would endanger air and sea traffic in the Mediterranean, while a spokesman for Gaddafi's government said any U.N.-approved action "would be illegal and immoral.

Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, welcomed the adoption of the resolution and translated its message into clear terms for Gaddafi and his government.

"The Security Council has authorized the use of force, including enforcement of a no-fly zone, to protect civilians ... targeted by Colonel Gaddafi, his intelligence and security forces, and his mercenaries," Rice said.

France, which drafted the final version of the resolution, had pressed the council to act fast, saying it could otherwise be too late to stop Gaddafi from crushing his opponents.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, who flew to New York to be present for the vote, told reporters "France is ready, with others, to put the Security Council resolution into effect," suggesting this could include air strikes.

"NO PLACE FOR ATROCITIES"

Libyan deputy U.N. ambassador Ibrahim Dabbashi, whose denunciation of Gaddafi last month inspired dozens of similar defections by Libyan diplomats worldwide, welcomed the vote.

"It is a clear to the Libyan people that they are not alone," he told reporters.

"It is also a clear message to Colonel Gaddafi and those who are supporting him that there is no place for dictatorship, ... there is no place for atrocities, for mass killing."

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also welcomed the resolution, his press office said in a statement.

But German Ambassador Peter Wittig, explaining his country's abstention, warned of a possible protracted military conflict affecting the wider region. "We should not enter a military confrontation on the optimistic assumption that quick results with few casualties will be achieved," he said.

The Russian and Chinese envoys said the resolution's backers had failed to answer questions about how the no-fly zone would work and what the rules of engagement would be.

Apart from the military measures, the resolution also expands sanctions against Gaddafi and his inner circle imposed in a February 26 Security Council resolution.

Among those whose assets the resolution orders frozen are the Libyan National Oil Corp. and the central bank, which the resolution said were "under control of (Gaddafi) and his family" and a "potential source of funding for his regime."

The resolution bans all flights over Libya except for humanitarian flights.

It allows states that have notified the United Nations and Arab League "to protect civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of attack in (Libya), while excluding a foreign occupation force of any form on any part of Libyan territory."

The French-led rush to get a no-fly zone authorized at the United Nations came as Libyan troops advanced toward the insurgent stronghold of Benghazi and launched air raids on its outskirts.

The council imposed a no-fly zone over Bosnia in the 1990s, although some analysts say it failed to stop massacres like the 1995 slaughter of more than 8,000 Muslims in Srebrenica.

The United States originally reacted cautiously to calls for a no-fly zone over Libya, with some officials concerned it could be ineffective or politically damaging.

But in a sharp shift in tone, Washington this week began urging the United Nations to authorize not just a no-fly zone to aid Libyan rebels but also air strikes against Libyan tanks and heavy artillery, U.S. officials said.

U.N. diplomats said they understood the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Jordan were among Arab League members prepared to take part in enforcing the no-fly zone.

(Additional reporting by Adrian Croft in London, John Irish in Paris and Missy Ryan in Washington; Editing by Todd Eastham)

Japan nuclear crisis

Japan nuclear crisis: Atomic samurai not afraid to die

By Janet Fife-Yeomans
From: Herald Sun
March 18, 2011

THEY are being hailed as the modern-day samurai - the 180 brave men who stayed behind to fight the crisis at Fukushima nuclear power plant knowing it was very likely they had volunteered for a suicide mission.

It is virtually impossible to talk to the workers by phone. But the message came out from one that he was "not afraid to die" - that was his job, the Herald Sun reported.

The families of these brave men may never see them again, but they are proud of their sacrifice.

A 27-year-old woman, whose Twitter name is @NamicoAoto, tweeted that her father had volunteered for Fukushima duty.

"I heard that he volunteered even though he will be retiring in just half a year and my eyes are filling up with tears," she said.

"At home, he doesn't seem like someone who could handle big jobs. But today, I was really proud of him. I pray for his safe return."

Another loved one says in an email: "My father is still working at the plant. He says he's accepted his fate, much like a death sentence."

Prime Minister Naota Kan told the volunteers: "You are the only ones who can resolve a crisis. Retreat is unthinkable."

In shifts of 50, they are working in total darkness using flashlights or helmets with lamps on them.

Wearing head-to-toe protective gear and breathing through oxygen tanks as radiation reaches potentially lethal levels and temperatures soar, they crawl through dark mazes of pipes to make an adjustment on a valve, to read a gauge.

Nuclear experts say the skeleton crew is most likely not made up of managers but technicians, including firefighters, who know the plant inside out.

They are more likely to be skilled older men than fit young ones because they have already had children and even if they are exposed to massive amounts of radiation their cancers are unlikely to develop to a fatal stage in their lifetime.

The volunteers are being rotated in and out of the danger zone, often for only 10 or 15 minutes at a time, to limit their exposure.

Health Minister Yoko Komiyama raised the limit on the amount of radiation to which each worker can lawfully be exposed from 100 millisieverts to 250.

The average annual exposure for nuclear power plant workers is 20 millisieverts and most don't absorb more than one millisievert in a year.

Keiichi Nakagawa, associate professor of the Department of Radiology at the University of Tokyo Hospital, said: "I don't know any other way to say it, but this is like suicide fighters in a war."

Two workers are missing after the four explosions and fires at the plant since Friday.

One worker who was opening a valve to let out a build-up of steam was taken to hospital complaining of nausea and exhaustion after being exposed to 10 minutes of radiation.

Another 23 have been injured and 19, plus an unknown number of firemen, have been exposed to lower levels of radiation.

Plant operator the Tokyo Electric Power Company has said almost nothing about the workers, who remain anonymous, but made it clear they are racing against time to prevent a "critical meltdown".

A team of 34 US atomic experts is also now on the ground in Japan, equipped with ground and aerial hardware to monitor the radiation leaks.

American ambassador John Roos denied their presence shows a lack of trust in Japan's handling of the crisis.