NATO Partnership in Libya Serves as Model, Panetta Says

[jakeXT]

MONTEREY, California,
Aug 24, 2011 — Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta today called U.S. support for the NATO mission that's helping opposition forces make progress against Moammar Qadhafi's regime Libya an example of the international cooperation that will be critical in the future.

"It is a good indication of the kind of partnership and alliances that we need to have for the future if we are going to deal with the threats that we confront in today's world," Panetta told students during addresses at both the Naval Postgraduate School and Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center.

Panetta said he is particularly proud of the mission the United States performed as a NATO partner in Libya, including the establishment of a no-fly zone to help protect the Libyan people.

"It is a credit to the great job of nations working together on a common mission -- something that is absolutely essential if we are to provide security in the future," he said.
This support and assistance, he said, has been "part of the key in being able to help the opposition forces there ultimately be able to succeed."

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