U.S., allies say they remain firm on Libya mission

The United States, France and Britain said Thursday that they "remained united" in their determination to see Moammar Kadafi relinquish power in Libya, even as a meeting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in Berlin heard a top commander appeal for more ground attack aircraft to bolster the alliance's efforts against Kadafi's forces.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton sought to smooth over tensions among NATO members, saying that Kadafi "is testing our determination.... As our mission continues, maintaining our resolve only grows more important."

Her words were backed by a joint declaration issued hours later by President Obama, British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, promising to sustain their military operations in Libya.

Clinton said the United States was "especially concerned about the atrocities unfolding in Misurata," according to news accounts. "We are taking actions to respond, and those responsible will be held accountable."

But NATO chiefs say they need more ground attack aircraft to be more effective.

U.S. Navy Adm. James G. Stavridis, NATO's supreme allied commander, Europe, said at the meeting of foreign ministers that eight additional, specific warplanes were necessary for precision strikes against Kadafi's units without causing civilian casualties, according to U.S. and NATO officials.

It was unclear which nations within the alliance might respond to the request. The U.S., which has far more ground attack planes than any other country, withdrew them last week when it shifted to a support role. And no other countries have so far pledged to meet Stavridis' request, the officials said.

Britain and France have openly insisted over the last few days that more action from the U.S. is needed.

Libyan forces have continued to attack opposition-held areas in the last week, but many have shed their uniforms and hidden their armored vehicles to avoid being targeted by NATO's high-flying and fast-moving fighter jets.

Only the U.S. Air Force has A-10s or AC-130s, planes that fly lower and slower to carry out precision attacks on ground targets.

Several other NATO members have fighters that have been modified to conduct such attacks, including the Netherlands and Britain, a U.S. officer said. Britain has already provided several Tornado ground attack fighters and said it would modify two Typhoon aircraft for a ground attacks.

But "many countries have ground-strike assets that have not been offered to the Libya campaign," the NATO officer said.

There was no sign that the United States was considering making its A-10s and AC-130s available.

Canadian Air Force Lt. Gen. Charlie Bouchard, commanding the Libyan campaign, has not asked for the U.S. warplanes and would do so only in an "emergency," the NATO officer said.

Read More

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-libya-nato-20110415,0,5499350.story

U.S., South Korea fail to reach free-trade deal

SEOUL - Negotiations over a U.S.-Korea free-trade agreement broke down on Thursday after four days of discussions, a setback for the leaders of the two nations and a blow to efforts to rekindle broader world trade talks.

Despite optimism from both sides as they began bargaining, domestic political concerns weighed heavily on the talks and ultimately appeared to have prevented the final compromises needed to secure the agreement.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and President Obama began their scheduled meeting around noon Thursday in Seoul without a deal in hand. A White House official familiar with the talks said the discussions foundered over long-standing disagreements over U.S. access to the Korean auto and beef markets.

The meeting between the two heads of state ended without an accord. At a news conference afterward with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, Obama said, "We believe that such an agreement, if done right, could be a win-win for our people."

"We have asked out teams to work tirelessly in the next days and weeks to get an agreement, and we are confident we will do so," Obama said.

The failure to produce a signed agreement at the summit is significant. Obama had set a personal goal of completing the Korea deal during the meeting of the Group of 20 world leaders, and Lee had cast the agreement as way to deepen the strategic and political ties between the two nations, as well as the economic ones.

Corporate and trade officials have been watching the talks as a barometer for trade issues as a whole, and how they might fare at a time when many countries are struggling with high unemployment and trying to boost their exports as a way to create jobs.

Obama has pressed for the trade pact as part of his effort to boost U.S. exports. New data released by the federal government Wednesday showed sluggish growth in U.S. overseas sales in September, which were up less than one half of 1 percent over the month before. Imports also fell, narrowing the monthly trade gap to $44 billion from $46.5 billion.

In the United States, opponents of the South Korea deal, originally negotiated by the George W. Bush administration, say the agreement would siphon away more U.S. manufacturing jobs without creating a truly open market for U.S. products.

Obama had criticized the deal during his presidential campaign, and officials from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative have pushed for ways to increase U.S. auto sales in the country and persuade South Korea to lift a lingering restriction on U.S. beef.

Officials involved in the talks had reported progress on the auto issue, including a possible agreement by South Korea to accept slightly weaker U.S. emissions standards as long as imports remained below a certain level. Such an agreement would have spared U.S. automakers the expense of modifying a small number of vehicles for the South Korean market.

But in the end, negotiations did not advance enough to assure U.S. officials that American carmakers would gain better access to Korea's market.

Beef has been another major sticking point. South Korea has insisted that it retain for now a restriction on imports of U.S. beef produced from the slaughter of cattle that is more than 30 months old. That limit was set when Lee lifted a more general restriction on U.S. beef put in place after the mad cow scare several years ago.

Though the rule affects only a small portion of the market, South Korean officials think that public opposition would be too great if they did away with it 

Read more

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/10/AR2010111006338.html?hpid=topnews