Panetta: Libya mission can't end before fighting
NATO's mission in Libya cannot end as long as fighting continues, including in Muammar Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte, US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Tuesday.
"As long as there is fighting that continues in Libya, I suspect that the NATO mission will continue," Panetta said ahead of meetings later this week with other NATO defense chiefs. Revolutionary forces supported by NATO airstrikes have seized Tripoli and much of the rest of the country, but they have been locked in a standoff over Sirte and Bani Walid for weeks. NATO airstrikes have continued on those loyalist strongholds. (AP)
