British aid is help in a shared power Libyan rebels,

The first question, which are the British face is "Whose army?"

For them, it will find that a ragtag rebel advice, that force even that who the top officer to agree amid squabbling between two generals who come with disgusting luggage.

The dysfunction was on full screen here this week. "I all, the rebels and the regular army control forces," one of the two, General Khalifa Hifter, said in an interview on Monday. "I am the field commander, and Chief of staff is General Abdul Fattah Younes." "His mission is to support us in the area, and my job is, do the fighting."

The rebel civilian leadership, transitional National Council, has, however, insisted that that General Younes remains responsible for the military. "This is not true," said an official claims close to the Council Tuesday as declared General Hifter. "General Younes is about him, that's for sure, and General Hifter is under it."

General Hifter made clear that he regarded in a support or logistical role which was general Younes as an officer, and he accused him explicitly for a string of humiliating retreat by rebels along the alternating front between Brega and Ajdabiya, most recently on Sunday, when seven rebels during a counter attack by government troops, close to a rout were killed.

"Everything that happens there was the result of the command of Abdul Fattah Younes," he said. "That is why I came back to take, and I will not a unit in the next couple days free of charge of any unit." "I am ready, the forces now run always."

From the outset, NATO has added disabled military efforts of disorganization of the rebels and lack of training, equipment and experience, who have left, not on the damage to benefit Colonel Qadhafi forces of NATO air strikes. The British mission is organization, communication and logistics to combat these shortcomings, improve the rebels.

The Colonel Qadhafi last week, forces to the air strikes, with camouflage and mix with civilians, have adapted it exactly what become sent more difficult for pilots, NATO, its objectives to meet without civilians killed - the UN them there to stop.

In the ensuing standoff, as shell held city of Misurata, forcing rebels killed hundreds of civilians the Gaddafi who suffers credibility to NATO, critics say, search it risks weak and ineffective - especially when compared with the blistering American-led attacks in the first weeks of the air campaign.

The Western powers were looking for the rebel fighters, break the logjam in the hope that they can be integrated into an effective fighting force. But the sustained disorganization and infighting within the rebel leadership is an obstacle; even countries to enter into the support for the rebels are cause for armament, at least in part from concerns about the confusion.

All of which raises doubts as to the possibility for Britain's consultants, an effective rebel military, if that create the leader can not stop, fight with each other.

The first specific report weapons from foreign donors reach the rebels the broadcast came on Tuesday, but clearly, 400 AK-47 rifles, went by one of the two generals claiming to be the leader of the rebels. Instead, they went directly to a civilian, Fawzi Bukatef, an oil engineer, that training has other civilians.

Mr Bukatef said he had just sent 400 fresh armed volunteers to the front with the new weapons had it from unnamed donors receive - widely believed Qatar that freely acknowledged his intention to send arms to the rebels. He knows both generals, he said, and feels through both in the lurch.

Mr Bukatef said "These guys are a problem for us on the front because we don't know who is responsible,". "they are to coordinate with each other, and I don't think that they even like."

On Tuesday, a compromise was suggested Bani, the official spokesman of the Libyan rebels by Colonel Ahmed type. "they are both at the same level, and both reply to Omar al-Hariri, the Minister of defence," he said. But, the little promise of resolving the situation.

General Hifter claimed that his new authority over the forces in the field from the Transitional National Council, and he said it was not true that the Council had hit him after a contentious end of March by military command centre and the top position on General Younes of abandonment that first Qadhafi former Interior Minister.

"It was only a desire on their part," he said.

A senior officer on his staff said that the civilian officials did not dare to remove General Hifter. "If they so much as to do that, people would kill them", he said.

View the original article here

News Analysis: pain of the British tax cuts could US debate to inform

But in the UK, a year in its own program to put controversial austerity measures a tax gaping hole, the future is now. And for the time being, the early returns are less than promising.

3.5 Percent plunged retail sales the sharpest monthly downturn in the UK in 15 years in March. And a new report by the Center for economic and business research, an independent research group here established, forecasts that real household income to 2 percent will fall this year. Britain's income that would make squeeze worst for two consecutive years since the 1930's.

George Osborne has all according to the British top economic officials, in a time of high deficits and economic weakness, which is the best approach aggressively the deficit first by rapid fire cuts aimed to the heart of the British Welfare State challenged.

This, says Mr Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, ensures the confidence of the financial markets and thus ensures the low interest rates for long-term economic growth required.

This approach, and the question of whether the risk of stifling economic recovery, which could help define the budget gap, is the cause of the deficit debate in the United States. On the one hand, the go-slow strategy of President Obama is preferred. On the other hand, which is more radical path by the Republicans who. The two camps are undoubtedly closely watching Britain's experiment.

At least on paper, both countries face challenges largely deficit. United Kingdom aims to close a fiscal gap of around 10 percent of gross domestic product. The comparable figure in the United States is 9.5 per cent.

In Washington the Republican proposal recently, Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin outlined by Representative calls for the width and significant reduction in social spending, including Medicare and Medicaid, and large tax cuts.

On Wednesday President Obama one called for a more balanced approach, which he said, would combine some tax increases for the wealthy, with selective austerity measures, he said, not the "basic contract" would break programs such as Medicare and Medicaid.

While harder in its approach to the issues of the British plan lacks the strong momentum cuts, which the Republican proposal. British will certainly feel pain at the local government level, as money for the care of older people, youth programmes and dry garbage collection. But icons such as the national health service have been spared largely.

Other notable differences suggest that Europe is the Conservative Party on the left is the mainstream Republican position in the United States, and in a sense as Mr Obama has the position.

To strike a political balance, led the coalition Government of Prime Minister David Cameron of the conservative party, Mr Osborne – even a conservative - retains a 50% tax rate for the richest people. This is among the highest in Europe, and it more a burden on the rich than anything, what Mr Obama imposed on, or someone in Washington would find politically feasible.

But in the UK, the major concern now is not tax rates. Instead, the fear that Mr Osborne emphasis on reducing social spending - you aim at is now to achieve an approximate budget surplus by 2015 and will lead more than 300,000 government jobs - the economy could tip into recession.

Already the Government has its growth was estimated at 1.7 per cent, from 2.4 per cent for this year are slash as consumer income under the pressure of high inflation, weak wage growth and stagnant economic activity.

"My view is that we are in serious danger, a double-dip are recession,", said Richard Portes, an economist at the London Business School. "It will be a cautionary tale."

Not all economists agree, of course. And this week slight improvement in the unemployment rate to 7.8 per cent 7.9 per cent, suggests that it still too early, inevitably declare to a second burglary.

With Mr Portes, no one would deny that a deficit of 10% of the G.D.P is untenable in the long term. But with the opposition labour party, he argues that move so quickly in the face of weak economic growth is not justified.

Mr Osborne suggests the deficit to 1.5 percent by 2015 slash. Comparison, is not the strong reach project program that provides Mr Ryan, that deficit target by 2021.

In addition to the difference in speed is an important distinction as each plan would reach its goals. Mr Osborne plan calls for 75 percent savings come from spending cuts, and the rest from increased above all indirect revenue and taxes - an increase of in sales tax, for example.

Mr Ryan, on the other hand, proposes to slash would enable expenditure $ 5.8 trillion but - in contrast to the British approach - most of expenditure be compensated cuts of $4.2 trillion in tax cuts, rather than the deficit gap close applied. In other words, while Mr Ryan would strongly lean to close expenditure reductions to the deficit, he hopes to inspire, discussed the nature of the supply side economic growth in most cases, when Ronald Reagan in the White House.

View the original article here