NATO Is Confident of More Planes for Libya Soon

BERLIN -- NATO failed for a second day to find new ground-attack aircraft for the fight against Moammar Gadhafi's forces in Libya but Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told The Associated Press on Friday he expects the additional planes soon.

NATO's top military commander, U.S. Navy Adm. James Stavridis, has said there is a growing need for precision attack aircraft to avoid civilian casualties as Gadhafi's forces camouflage themselves and hide in populated areas to avoid Western airstrikes.

American officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the details, said the commander is looking for about eight to 10 additional planes.

In an interview with the AP following a two-day meeting of NATO foreign ministers, Fogh Rasmussen refused to confirm that number but said he was confident that military commanders would get the additional resources soon.

"What we need is a small number of precision aircraft fighters and without going into details, I'm hopeful that nations will step up to the plate," he said.

"I think all NATO allies realize that of course the operation must be fully resourced."

The need for the additional aircraft comes as the situation has changed on the ground, Fogh Rasmussen said.

"At the beginning we targeted fixed military capacities on the ground - gradually we have moved into targeting moving targets like tanks, armored vehicles and other military capacities," he said.

"We have also seen Gadhafi change his tactics into using civilian vehicles, hiding tanks and armored vehicles in the cities, using human shields etcetera and all that makes it necessary to gradually adapt our tactics."

The alliance is struggling to overcome differences over the Libya mission, with Britain and France seeking more strikes by other NATO nations, particularly the U.S.

The U.S. says it sees no need to change what it calls a supporting role in the campaign - even though it has still been flying a third of the missions - and many other NATO nations have rules preventing them from striking Gadhafi's forces except in self-defense.

Fogh Rasmussen downplayed the divisions, pointing out that many NATO nations have had country-specific caveats for years in Afghanistan.

"Our military operations are based on the principle that it is for each individual nation to make a decision as to how their military assets can be used - it's actually a fundamental principle of NATO," he said. "Obviously from a military point of view our commanders would like a maximum of flexibility in the use of their military assets, but we're used to dealing with that."

NATO airstrikes in Libya began three weeks ago, aimed at protecting civilians from attacks from forces loyal to Gadhafi.

U.S., British and French leaders pledged in a joint statement Friday to maintain the military campaign until Moammar Gadhafi leave office - something Fogh Rasmussen said NATO fully supports.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said after the NATO meetings that the Libya mission had already been a success.

"The world did not wait for another Srebrenica in a place called Benghazi. Instead, we came together in the United Nations ... to impose sanctions, a no-fly zone, and an arms embargo and protecting civilians. In a single week, we prevented a potential massacre, stopped an advancing army, and expanded the coalition," she said.

"And as Col. Gadhafi continues attacking his own people, we are gaining even more partners in our efforts."

All of the non-NATO nations that sat in on Libya discussions Thursday in Berlin - Ukraine, Sweden, Qatar, Jordan, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates - are either already participating in the mission or will soon, Fogh Rasmussen told the AP.

He would not comment on what assets they might commit, however, saying it was up to the individual nations to make those announcements themselves.

Matthew Lee and Geir Moulson contributed to this report.