Former French air chief envisages 'symbolic' Libya strike
The former chief of the French air force, General Jean Rannou, has said UN powers should quickly strike a Gaddafi military base to deter his advance.
Speaking to EUobserver by phone on Friday (18 March) following a UN Security Council resolution authorising military action, General Rannou said: "We could do as we did in Bosnia in the beginning, to carry out one strike and to say: 'If you don't stop, we will continue.' I think it would be a good solution."
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He said two jets, such as British Tornados or French Mirage 2000s, would be enough for the mission. The planes could take off from bases in the UK or France and discharge weapons in Libya within "one or two hours" of the go-order.
He noted that British Awacs planes are most-likely already in the air over the Mediterranean Sea tracking the Libyan air force in real time and that France has probably identified fixed targets on the ground using spy satellites.
"Libya is very close. If the preparations have been made, between giving the order and take-off is less than one hour ... We could strike a [Gaddafi] base within two hours," he said. "If you have an Awacs over London, it covers a distance from Scotland in the north to Paris in the south," he added, noting that there is no need to put Awacs into Libyan airspace.
General Rannou, who commanded the French air force from 1995 to 2000 at the height of the Yugoslav wars, said the second step would be to impose a no-fly zone.
An effective force would require a "small squadron" of 12 fighter jets such as Tornados, Mirage 2000s, Rafales, Eurofighters or US F18 and F16s with six planes in the air at any given time, supported by three Awacs and three re-fuelling planes.
In terms of the UN mandate to "protect civilians and civilian populated areas" the no-fly squadron should be supported by drones to monitor movements by Gaddafi tanks, and attack helicopters, such as the Franco-German-built Tigre.
The general warned that things will get a lot messier if Gaddafi soldiers attack rebel forces or civilians on the ground and UN powers decide to give "close air support."
"Then you need people on the ground to identify targets. We did this in Bosnia - the strikes are only effective if the targets are visible and clearly identified ... otherwise there is a high risk of collateral damage," he said.
Asked if he believes that Germany's objection to the UN resolution could signal a deep split in the EU as on the 2003 Iraq war, he answered: "No. I don't think so. At least, I hope not."
He noted that when the West bombed Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic in the 1990s, an avant garde launched small-scale strikes despite ongoing divergence of opinion while a broader political consensus emerged in the following weeks.
"We hit four Milosevic targets in the first night. Each time we hit him, he retreated, then he went forward again. In the end, we had to strike hundreds of targets," General Rannou recalled.
The former French airman concurred with recent remarks by British counterpart Lord Stirrup that UN powers must have a clear plan what to do with Gaddafi after the war ends.
"I think the British, the French and the Americans already know what their objective is even if they have not shared it more widely," he said.