British Defence Secretary compares Libyan crisis to protractedAfghan conflict
April 21st, 2011 - 4:08 pm ICT by ANILondon, Apr 21(ANI): British Defence Secretary Liam Fox has compared the crisis in Libya to the war in Afghanistan, opening the United Kingdom to the prospect of a decade-long battle to oust dictator Muammar al-Gaddafi.
Fox said that Britain was committed to training the Libyan rebels, in the same way as the Army is seeking to build up the Afghan security forces.
“The situation is not that different from what’s happening in Afghanistan, where we’ve decided that training up security forces so that the Afghans themselves can look after their security is the best way forward,” the Daily Mail quoted Fox, as saying.
“The best way in which we can assist the Libyan rebels is to give them some technical capabilities in how to organize themselves,” he added.
The Defence Secretary’s remarks came as France and Italy followed Britain’s lead and sent teams of military advisers to Libya to support rebels who have struggled against Gaddafi’s forces.
British forces have been deployed in Afghanistan since 2001, and ministers have said their role there will last until at least 2015. (ANI)
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Tags: afghans, army, british defence secretary, conflict, daily mail, decade, dictator, italy, liam fox, libya, london, military advisers, muammar al gaddafi, rebels, security forces, technical capabilities, united kingdom, war in afghanistan