Liam Fox: Libya no-fly zone doesn't need attack Skip to main content

Liam Fox: Libya no-fly zone doesn't need attack

Liam Fox Liam Fox is to meet Nato leaders to discuss plans to impose a no-fly zone on Libya

Libya Revolt

Military action is not the only way to impose a no-fly zone on Libya, UK Defence Secretary Liam Fox has said.
His US counterpart Robert Gates has warned that forces would have to attack Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's defences in order to ground his planes.
But Dr Fox told BBC Radio 4's Today programme there were "alternatives".
Foreign Secretary William Hague is urging the EU to impose sanctions on Libya, as the Gaddafi regime continues to battle with rebel forces.
Earlier this month, Mr Gates rejected "loose talk" about taking steps which could amount to an act of war.
Dr Fox will meet fellow Nato defence ministers later to discuss the drafting of a UN resolution, being put together by the UK and France, which will call for an air exclusion zone over Libya.
Asked on Today whether such a move would require an attack on the country, he replied: "In Iraq that's not the way we carried out the no-fly zone. There are alternatives."
'Very worrying' Dr Fox said that, rather than "taking out" air defences in a pre-emptive strike, Nato leaders could say that, if an enemy locked its air defence radar on Nato planes, they could "regard that as a hostile action and take subsequent action".
He added: "That's one military option but there are other military options that we have used."
The defence secretary said he and his Nato colleagues wanted to make sure that "we are all on the same page".
Dr Fox also said any action would require international and regional support, but described Col Gaddafi's use of violence as "very worrying".
BBC diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus said other options included imposing a "no-drive zone" - which would prevent government tanks and armoured vehicles from entering parts of Libya, "direct air action" to put air force bases out of action, and encouraging the arming and training of rebel forces.
But these all carried significant risks, he added.
Meanwhile, Mr Hague and his German counterpart, Guido Westerwelle, have urged the European Union to explore ways of imposing more sanctions on Libya.
In a letter to EU foreign affairs chief Baroness Ashton, they say Col Gaddafi "has to step aside to allow for a true democratic transformation of the country".
The letter continues: "The EU should agree to an ambitious, clear response with a series of concrete actions both for the short and longer term."
Sources at the Foreign Office say this does not mean cutting formal diplomatic ties with Libya, but consideration is being given to further ways to "isolate" Col Gaddafi.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-12697639
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