Panetta await end to Sirte battle before setting NATO in Libya

The US and Italian defense chiefs said they were not ready to discuss an end to NATO operations in Libya until the fighting ends in Sirte, where holdouts of former leader Moammar Gadhafi continue battling forces of the Libyan transitional government."There is still fighting going on in Sirte, and as long as that continues to be the case, our commanders feel the need for us to maintain our presence," US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said late Monday in an appearance with Italian Defense Miniser Ignazio La Russa."We have assessed a common way to help the transition in Libya, but also what to do when the combat in Sirte will be over," La Russa said.Panetta said he was "very concerned" about reports about missiles from Libya making their way to other countries "and into the Sinai." "We have dispatched a group there to determine what the situation is and have yet to get a report as to what the status is," Panetta said, referring to the status of Libyan weapons stocks. "But I do remain concerned about the reports of these weapons being out there." Panetta said that if not for the Italians, "we really do not feel that we could have completed this mission (in Libya). They provided important bases: Aviano, Sigonella, Naples and elsewhere. As a result of that, NATO was able to conduct important missions into Libya." In Afghanistan, La Russa said, Italy has "considered the possibility" of ending its military operations by 2014 "based on the condition on the field, but also we have examined the possibility to continue our presence in the area under other forms, namely nonmilitary support." Panetta noted that the Italians "have a large presence in Afghanistan in what's called RC West. They have done a remarkable job there. They continue to provide security and training in that part of Afghanistan." The United States views Italy "as one of our NATO partners that has really assumed responsibility, hopefully, for ensuring that Afghanistan heads in the right direction." La Russa said the two also discussed "our military industry collaboration, and we want others in the several programs ongoing, for example the Aegis (missile) program having its center in the base of Sigonella, to go on. This is a very important issue we have discussed and upon which we have total agreement, as we have other agreements in several other fields."