Italy DM: NATO ‘Practically’ Done Bombing Libya

No Indication of No-Fly Zone Ending

Speaking today at the NATO conference in Brussels, Italian Defense Minister Ignazio La Russa sought to reassure people about the ongoing war in Libya, saying NATO’s bombing of the country was “practically over.”

The mission is nearly over, but the ‘nearly’ remains,” added La Russa, though neither he nor any other NATO officials provided any indication of when the war would end and when the no-fly zone would be lifted.

Rather, Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that the war would continue until “no threat exists against the civilian population,” which considering a new civil war is already on the rise, could be years to come.

NATO entered the civil war in mid-March with what was supposed to be a “no-fly zone,” and which quickly escalated into hundreds of air strikes across the nation, and massive backing for the rebel military force.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.