they see nato as american-lead. they fear that a nato operation would be more difficult for the arabs to swallow. they would want something that looked more independent. we do not know if they actually felt that way. that is one of the reasons why we are reaching an agreement between the french, the turks, and the americans about giving control to nato. >> do you think united states or anybody will be concerned patsy uae will be sending some forces to enforce the no-fly zone. doing this to protect civilians in libya. taking action in bahrain against anti-government demonstrators. >> there are some sensitivities about what is happening in the broader middle east. why are we intervening in india -- libya but turning a blind eye to other places? the other issue that the nato command structure raises, what is the actual operation and how will it be divided between the no-fly zone and the coalition operation, which is actually more aggressive. going after the libyan army. going after the fixed assets. if this does not ge

ambassador to nato. and the defense adviser to nato mr. bell was responsible for the planning, coordinating and monitoring of the department of defense policies, programs and initiatives throughout europe. as the defense adviser to the u.s. mission at nato, he is responsible for the formulation, coordination and presentation of the dod policies to the u.s. ambassador to nato. please and gentlemen, please extend a warm welcome to mr. robert bell. [applause] >> thank you very much. it's a great honor to follow ellen tauscher and to proceed jim miller in your proceedings today. at the outset let me come to the deepest apologies from the ambassador for not being able to make this a video conference today. .. >> and it's these two groups that are really pivotal in the terms of the success that we were able to achieve at lisbon. and they are making nato missile defense a reality today. of course, i would also like to acknowledge lieutenant general riley, the aiaa, and all of those in the audience who helped make the event possible today, includi

is nato right the u.s. plays a very leading role the u.s. has the nie as military capability then you know it doesn't make any difference at all if we say nato is in command now not really i mean it really doesn't i guess the only comparison we have at least the latest comparison we could have is afghanistan and if we think about what's going on yes a good trip to afghanistan being invited myself and i saw this very closely it will she thought it is well yes there are new nato troops on the ground if you want to go to the highest policy levels in still frequently be dictated the money and the power of control. it's. still rolls out of washington still rolls out of the pentagon yes you're never president bush when you have all of these various organizations coming together and you have all sorts of why it's everywhere from some of central america. places around the world there it clear to the gate it's still the americans who are driving this day and that's true whether or not president obama is prepared to admit it and that's something that

nato allies are fulfilling this resolution, and that is why we have decided to assume responsibility for the no-fly zone. >> the united nations says the libyan government must declare a cease-fire or face of further action. fighting on the ground continues as forces loyal to the libyan leader bombarded mombasa. welcome to "bbc world news" in the u.k. and around the world. also ahead, syria offers reforms after bitter protests erupt into violence. mourners paid their last respects for elizabeth taylor. >>> after days of disagreement and confusion, nato has agreed to take control over enforcing the no-fly zone over libya. they said the mandates of the alliance would not extend beyond that and there would still be a separate coalition operation. if you hours ago, u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton said airplanes from the united arab emirates would be joining the no-fly zone. >> final preparations for these french pilots as they contemplate another mission over libya. france was at the forefront of the diplomatic flight to get a no flight -- a no-fly zone it installed, and now they'

of course any invasion would be it an initiative of nato as a whole or of any nato member state if an action is not authorized by the u.n. it is an illegal intervention but what i am saying now is not a warning it is just a statement of fact as a matter of fact many people inside nato agree with russia no to visit one of the us on the situation in libya washington is being very restrained if not passive here some are laughing at the overly zealous france and the u.k. saying that those two are running ahead of uncle sam nobody knows why this is happening and whether there are some common scenario in place i think that the u.s. administration would not like to take any hasty actions against libya right now most likely they're monitoring the situation closely and preparations to possible military engagement are perhaps in progress but a new war is dangerous for the u.s. now especially with a presidential elections looming ahead i think there will be many voices telling president obama that the risk is too great and there can be no victorious blitzkrieg in libya libya is a big country and

russia's envoy to nato thank you for speaking to r.t. . yes my name is daniel schmidt this is julian assange we're here to make a short presentation about the wiki leaks project and the first step in the fourth day is to get information out about the real world. to him war on and on and. secrecy is the biggest. going to be commercially. if i've ever put it and you saw as this danger you would hunt me down and kill. this is exactly one of the reasons why we left the show because it has become more about this all james bond. than actual information. but thank you. sol the people around the won't. we. the. machines would be soon which bryson if you only bounce from phones to. knees from stunts on t.v. don't come. if. he is fifty feet. deep in the. sports is political in ways we don't often even notice especially on the level of culture where our ideas and attitudes as a society are shaped. when it. serves the ties between professional football in the us military have existed since the start of the n.f.l. back in one thousand twenty that one n

all measured stradella is nato is united nato is vigilant nature is ready to act ok daniel we hear what. you're saying there but how does that fit in with the news today from france that it's recognized the rebel government are they all talking is what is their backing for their. absolutely at the media conference afterwards he was exactly asked that question how can he say that nato is united when you've got so many different polar views within nato itself let alone the global community as you've mentioned france has come out as the first major power to officially recognize libya's red rebels as the legitimate rulers of that country then you've got several powers like u.s. and u.k. making very aggressive comments about going into libya and that gadhafi must go and then on the other side you have countries like italy which is at the sharp end if you like of this whole situation just across the mediterranean from libya receiving thousands of disparate refuse g.'s from that country and of course an increasing humanitarian crisis and the last thing it wants to see italy of course a nato me

s and other forces on the ground and as for a nato. european compared to u.s. led in terms of this mission i think it's absurd the united states of course is still behind it even though robert gates and so on had a lot of reservations about it there were five abstentions for u.n. resolution one hundred seventy three and would have to the african union just not care about them because they unanimously didn't want what is going on now as for the arab league a very very iffy support for this although for them it could be a win win as well the autocrats who are in power the dictators who are in the arab league can now blame the protests in their own countries on zionist american conspiracies because after all they come to help the protests in libya also they get to. topple a dictator that hasn't been good to them because he's always look to africa you won't see any or egyptian help for this nature operate in a tool i think that that question needs to be answered by all these nato leaders why do you think here in egypt aren't involved because they see a great danger

nato moves to assume. that the. coalition already killed nearly one hundred civilians some members of the alliance are facing criticism of their. fresh strike as the country struggles to bury. its nuclear plant. this is. welcome to the program. now nato is preparing to take full command from the u.s. in the operation to enforce a no fly zone over libya the bombing campaign is helping rebels in their move towards the capital tripoli now in the last few days they've managed to recapture some key oil town in the east in a rapid advance along the coast line reports suggest it could offer his home town sort of hers and now it fall into the hands of anti government fighters with clashes continuing in the western city of misrata coalition air strikes against targets in tripoli also resumed overnight and very soon will be crossing live to the libyan capital to get the latest from our correspondent paula slit we'll be checking with her little bit later this hour right here on r.t. . but with the u.s. being the military and e

colonel gadhafi as they press on towards the libyan capital to reclaiming several key oil in the east nato members agree on taking command of the full military operations in libya while on the ground rebel forces make quick advances. in the capital city tripoli join me in a few moments formal. meanwhile moscow says the foreign airstrikes a result of gadhafi is crimes against his own people criticizes the coalition forces for recklessness over civilian casualties. also in the news this week hundreds of thousands of britons marched in london enraged over huge cuts protests also gripped the e.u. as many were angry at. cash flows into the libya bombings. and in japan the operator of the fukushima nuclear plant apologizes for early reports that radiation levels there reached ten million times the normal the false claims led to the immediate withdrawal of emergency teams. from the russian capital with a look back at the week's past stories the top stories and also the latest developments libyan rebels are advancing west towards the capital tripoli after further gains in the east of the country t

do you support nato and e.u. backing for libya's rebels brains like of which they are in principle what usually happens is this in order to start military operations you have to ask someone to invite you so it's not proper to come in uninvited. there should be a side doing inviting for this side to it presentable it has to be legitimized what is now happening with the libyan opposition is approximately the same thing the problem lies elsewhere no one knows who these people are in reality we know just one person who formerly worked as part of mr gadhafi his entourage and all the others are total strangers and more than that there is no information regarding the degree of consolidation of the libyan opposition the case in point quite likely is different centers in different provinces in our country it must be said incidentally that the latest events in libya indicate that mr gaddafi is not going to surrender quickly there are loyalty problems in his armed forces in the police force but as long as the libyan army re

s and other forces on the ground and as for a nato summit european compared to u.s. led in terms of this mission i think it's absurd the united states of course is still behind it even though robert gates and so on had a lot of reservations about it there were five abstentions for un resolution one hundred seventy three and one hundred the african union who just don't care about them because they unanimously didn't want what is going on now as for the arab league a very very iffy support for this although for them it could be a win win as well you won't see any tunisian or egyptian help for this nature operate at all i think that that question needs to be answered by all these nato leaders why do you think it is here in egypt are not involved because they see a great danger of western powers trying to get involved with this oil rich nation i'm sure that there are people on the ground in the coalition from western agencies already planning the future and what the future government will be i fear it won't be got a democracy that we saw in the natural revolutions as it

the absorption of the coalition by nato. the fact that nato will follow up. nato cannot swallow up the emirate and qatar. he said that that is important -- impossible. -- you see that that is impossible. it would be playing into the hand of gaddafi. we will keep the political staringeering mechanisms. perhaps the very last question. >> on political staring and to you feel that the high representative -- do you feel that the high representative has played a good role in the libyan crisis? the member states were trying to find an agreement. >> i believe that she has played a major role and we have worked hand in glove with them. the high representative has played her role but it is not the high representative who has leverage on our armed forces. it is the member states. there is no such thing as a european armed force. it is not the high representative who can coordinate what the coalition forces does. to his present at the paris la motte -- she will be present at the paris summit. they will maintain and ensure unity. britain and france have shown their leader

and nato bombings the u.s. is now involved in its fourth attack of a foreign nation in these same twelve years and this is going to. new york. and later this hour to the libyan conflict and cross soccer to great over concerns that doesn't involve them couldn't come a case of history. u.s. british foreign policy objectives would be the removal of gadhafi regime u.n. security council resolution one hundred seventy three fall short of that clearly but it does have the mandate in the open ended mandate to protect civilians and so that's what much of this comes down to and that's what opens the door for this debate about the end state and all the controversy flowing from that but frankly i think if we look at previous no fly zones that could be in effect if. any of those near chiefs compared to the little flies in iraq did have better achievements but look at the length of time that these operations went on for. a new threat to the bureau oversight of libya and other issues that need summit in brussels a possible in

nato members agree on taking command of the full military operations in libya while on the ground forces make quick responses of westwards i'm pointed to in the capital city tripoli joining me in a few moments formal. meanwhile moscow says it's gadhafi is crimes against his own people that have brought to the fore in airstrikes criticizes coalition forces for breathlessness over reports of civilian casualties. and in all the news this week over two hundred are rescued in love them to serious rioting following the huge protests half a million people against british government plans to slash public spending by eighty billion pounds demonstrations also group citizens angry out of dirty carpets weld county one of the banks and homes. and in japan the fukushima nuclear facilities management has apologized for wrong reporting that radiation levels have topped ten million times the norm a mistake brought the music of a creation of origins to teams at the site. you're watching r t twenty four hour news live from the russian capital is seven am in moscow a very warm welcome libyan rebels advancin

the country they claim they've won back control of several strategic towns from the forces meanwhile nato is ready to replace the u.s. and leading the coalition's campaign. has the latest now from tripoli. pryde most of sunday we saw these rebel fighters advancing with almost and lightning speed westwards through eastern libya they're now in the town of the bin jawad which is about a two hour drive from the city of sets and the reason why set is important is that this is the hometown of the libyan leader moammar gadhafi is where it is where he has his major supporter base now we know that the rebels along the way encountered very initial resistance this is partly because they were driving through the desert and also because we're hearing that gadhafi forces were treated to set a hit of this rebel advancement of the soldiers simply abandoned their military equipment along the sides of the road so the focal point now will be on sirte when those rebels reach said we are expecting that they will be a major showdown between the pro and anti kadafi forces and this is where the role of the inter

libya to nato. host: secretary of state hillary clinton speaking yesterday. let us look at "the washington post" clarifying their role as much as one can right now. nato versus the u.s. in libya. the report says -- let's go to lancaster, pennsylvania. wanna on our independent line. caller: the reason i am calling is because i am definitely against this war. it is another one -- there are so many endless wars, you know? where it is easy and simple for the guys in high power to decide to do with the money we give out as taxes. instead of using it for good health care for us, for the people of america, good education. just imagine how different things would be if we had a good health for people, not having to pay for its, how much other governments would like to be like us instead of fighting these endless wars just to benefit if a few companies and a few people. ok? thank you very much for letting me talk. host: one of the other callers mentioned the cost of the war. i used the word were only because

-- in nato? there has been libyan diplomatic activity, playing the italian foreign minister, confirmed that libyan plane had landed in brussels for a meeting there. is any of that going to make any difference? >> i've heard those reports as well. and certainly i would expect that a lot of european nations would be open to dialogue. they want to hear what people have to say. i don't believe that libya has any advocates within nato whatsoever. i think that everyone in nato can see very clearly what's happening on the ground. rather, what i think you see is the caution of a number of states not wanting to see themselves in the position of intervening in a foreign country and arab country. and here is where i think we need to get the message right. this is not about intervention at all. this is actually about supporting the people of libya. as they're trying to secure their own future. for them this is the chance of a lifetime. >> we appreciate your time. >> thank you. >> the tur mole in libya,-- the

nato moves to assume. intervention in libya. remain on their. only concern with destroying. destruction from point to same in the capital city join me in a few moments formal. libyan officials claim a coalition. killed nearly one hundred civilians some members of the alliance facing criticism. fresh off the strike japan as the country struggles to bury the thousands of tsunami victims and prevent a radioactive. nuclear power. here in moscow. tripoli you're with our team as nato prepares to take full command of the international operation over libya it's still not clear what is or how long it expects the mission to last after more than a week of air strikes carried out by coalition forces rebels are rapidly advancing towards the capital tripoli in the last few days they've managed to recapture some key towns in the east. has more from tripoli. latest word we're hearing from the rebels is that they have taken over the town of sirte this comes as a huge surprise to people here in tripoli because said is gadhafi is home town it is where the members of his tribe dominate it is wh

nato is united nato is vigilant nato is ready to act well there was a meeting between president sarkozy's office of france and the libyan rebel national council after wish it was decided to announce that front brick noise is the rebels as the legitimate power in that country they will exchange ambassadors france will send an ambassador to be in causey and vice versa there will be a diplomat in france as the official representative of their country the french foreign minister alan should pay urged european partners to follow suit and engage with the new libyan leaders and the trouble is this opposition doesn't have much control it has this certain part pockets of the country in the east there's also devious question marks over its formation mirror former ministers of justice the minister of be interior from a good effete regime in this party along with several rebels rebels who dissidents also who spent years in prison and it's not sure why france has done this france it is not traditionally the closest ally of libya of course libya was a former colony of italy and there are question marks

and its nato allies yugoslavia our own forces joined our nato allies in airstrikes against serbian forces responsible for the brutality in kosovo march two thousand and eleven america's next democratic president and a new coalition of the willing attack libya the u.n. security council passed a strong resolution that demands an end to the violence against its. it authorizes the use of force if it will sanction by the one security council in contrast to the bombings of the slavia there was no such green light in the one thousand nine hundred ninety one it's one where by needle the first type of military alliance atop the sovereign nation a non-native member posing no threat to the group similarly libya poses no external threat and there are other striking parallels between the conduct of these wars the enemy then slobodan milosevic jobbed the new hitler the enemy up to date the eccentric one marker duffy and power for over forty years now similarly villainize to pry the us colonel qadhafi base just step down from power and leave the goal now and back then getting rid of a leader no longer f

so you have this idea that it is going to be nato command and control but not a nato mission. that seems to make sense to diplomats. that kind of debate is the st of thing tha just adds tohe wle long-running british-french tensions. just wait until we discover where a british commander and a french commander. i think lond and and paris may have opinions about that. >> warner: yes, they may. why is this important, this issue? >> well, i think we're in an unusual situation which is that the united states got into this mission but doesn't want to be in the lead. i think obama has been saying, where are our partners? why do we always hold the bag. finally the europeans have actually stepped up to plate. he's saying good, we want you to assume more of the burden. that means that the leadership that the u.s. provides and that the unity of command that comes with a nato... isn't there yet and probably won't be there. the french are saying to some extent lee might jat me if this is a nato mission it will be hard to get qatar or the united arab emirates or the others because of their i

host: we are talking a nato nato structures and operations with stephen flanagan.aller: germany is one of the richest countries in the world. we have 60,000 troops stationed in germany. can you tell me who is paying for the 60,000 soldiers? guest: the german government does provide some support to the u.s. presence in germany, but that support is not just about germany, it is about protecting our own interests and the ability to work as part of this coalition, and also to protect our broader interest. the number of troops in germany have been deployed to afghanistan and other places where we're protecting our interests. it is true that germany has been hesitant about joining the coalition. the governpresident is facing ay difficult election. they have been very cautious. what they did do is offer to enhance their contribution in afghanistan. they have 4000 soldiers there now. it is not that they are not contributing, but you are right, many people feel germany is not sharing inappropriate burden. but it does provide some host nation support to the u.s. forces that

nato is preparing to take full command from the u.s. and the operation to enforce a no fly zone over libya the bombing campaign has helped the rebels in their advance towards the capital tripoli now in the last few days they've managed to recapture some key towns in the east. sirte being among one of them. has more. the latest word we're hearing from the rebels is that they have taken over the town of says this comes as a huge surprise to people here in tripoli because said is gadhafi is hometown it is where the members of his tribe dominate it is where he has a bastion of support so far the rebels have advance from their hometown of benghazi to from there they moved on to the town of ras lanuf that is a port city from there to bin jawad and now to sirte now we did earlier hear reports that the entrances to search had been mined but the latest reports from the rebels is that they made little to no resistance that gadhafi fled there are reports coming through that they believe gadhafi fighters have actually stopped some of their arms and

he wanted to have the nato thing sort of solidified. he wanted to have everything in a row, talk to the members of congress, get the nato -- and i don't know if the nato thing is going to be solidified by monday night but presumably -- >> he's going to claim it is, whether it is or not. >> but what i think is so interesting, think back to george bush, there was a clarity with george bush. some people complained about it, said it was too simple. it was black or white. >> obama doesn't do clarity. >> no he does nuance. so you always, the president you elect is in reaction to the president you had. so you had a president always clear, always black and white, then you get barack obama who is all about the ambiguity and nuance. gwen: final question, do we think there is going to have to be a vote on this? is there a role for congress to play? >> money. >> that's the thing. and depending on how long this last the nato countries involved now, they're not bursting with cash. you may run into a situation here, a former nato ambassador said, we n

and nato meetings which are principally focused on libya e.u. came out and agree to disagree they said and didn't really agree on a strategy for libya and nato in the third day of talks there here in brussels also come out without much agreement of course in a much more menacing tone because they are leading this operation against libya on the first day they did agree on a no fly zone imposing a no fly zone over libya then there was talk of moving eastward to protect the eastern strongholds of rebel strongholds of libya and only then as a sort of of the thought was the talk of humanitarian support now this was all backed by a u.n. resolution which are authorize the imposition of a no fly zone over libya and even then when the u.n. passed that vote it was abstained by four or five key states brazil russia india and china were the states which are abstained along with germany and germany and turkey are now extremely concerned two key allies of nato say they're extremely concerned by nato involvement they don't want to see that they want to see a c

but in the end, nato will defend nato. and russia will defend russia. moving missile defense from a negative to a positive factor in our relationship could facilitate cooperation in other areas as well including talks on further reductions on strategic, nonstrategic, nondeployed nuclear weapons but reaching an agreement is not easy and will take time. beyond europe and russia, there are challenges and tough questions ahead of us. there is much more work to be done so to implement new regional approaches outside of europe. we need to think through what a phased adapted approach would look like, for example, in the middle east and asia. when the various political and military dynamics are factored in, they might look different than our approach in europe. our allies in the middle east and areas have their own missile defense assets and each brings different advantages to the missile defense table. we need to figure out how we can leverage those advantages to provide the best protection for the united states, our forward-deployed troops, our allies and our

nato bombings the u.s. is now involved in its fourth attack of a foreign nation in the same twelve years. new york. and later today artie's cross talk to. the libyan conflict with concerns that may doesn't volman could become a case of history repeating. the u.s. british foreign policy objectives would be the removal of gadhafi regime u.n. security council resolution one hundred seventy three fall short of that clearly but it does have the mandate in the open ended mandate to protect civilians so that's what much of this comes down to and that's what opens the top of this debate about the end state and all the controversy flowing from that but frankly i think if we look at previous no fly zones that are remarkably ineffective. the bosnia achieved proud to be a little fly zone over iraq did have better achievements but look at the length of time at least operations went on for. it. and the threat to the. your oversight of other issues that summit in brussels possible international brought. tox one year by po

rebels in libya gain more ground all the way to the capital while nato has to assume full control of operations. fuel medicine and food supplies are running low in tripoli as fears grow that this could lead to a protracted war joins me from the capital city in just a few moments a formal the rebel celebrate their troops a parent's worst reported recapturing the found off the fight on the war from rebels old benghazi. result of violent all prizes in the arab world draw little foreign interest questions are raised over whether coalition countries are targeting libya for revenge or wrong than to protect its people. all say this our radiation surges to well hundred thousand times above normal at the fukushima nuclear plant is to pound to prevent meltdown while struggling to pay thousands of tsunami victims to bret's. a very warm welcome to you this is a lie from moscow conflicting reports about just how far west rebels have advanced toward the living capital tripoli the opposition claims it controls his hometown but reporters say the city government hung's correspondents a corpse going o

nato bombings the u.s. is now involved in its fourth attack of a foreign nation in the same twelve years and. your call for an opposite of our top stories here at r.t. turn up the business news with dmitri. thank you very much russia's state run oil firm says it will continue to pursue its arctic exploration assets rock deal with b.p. that's after stock on arbitration five you know ruled that the deal broke b.p.'s agreement with its current russian partners in t.n. katie deputy prime minister said she wants also chairman of the board board says his company is not considering buying the russian shareholders out of tea and cake and you also noted that the arbitration court decision was not final earlier i spoke to ben arras he's editor in chief of business in europe and i started by asking him how this feel about. rosner deal as a key one for the kremlin as part of their energy strategy and out of the blue comes to complaining about this however i mean from the beginning there was an issue about the sharehold