Reply #81: NATO confident Libya air war to end within three months

[pinboy3niner]

by Staff Writers
Brussels (AFP) Sept 22, 2011


NATO can finish its air campaign in Libya within the next three months, the operations commander said Thursday, as remnants of the ousted regime are now isolated in three pockets of the country.

Asked for an assessment a day after NATO allies extended the mission by another 90 days, Lieutenant General Charles Bouchard told a press briefing: "I'm highly confident we can complete this mission well within this timeframe."

Bouchard said resistance among forces loyal to ousted dictator Moamer Kadhafi was restricted to "only three isolated pockets" -- Kadhafis hometown of Sirte with a strip of coastal access; an area in the town of Bani Walid to the west; and another section around Al Fugaha to the south.

However, after a six-month-old air war, the Canadian general said progress towards NATO's final goal would be largely "based on NTC forces on ground... and also on the will of the regime forces to continue."

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http://www.spacewar.com/reports/NATO_confident_Libya_ai...