WASHINGTON — The international coalition confronting Libyan leader Moammar Khadafy agreed Thursday to put NATO in charge of enforcing a no-fly zone but was still working on a deal to relieve U.S. forces of command of all military operations in the country.
U.S. officials said Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton had reached preliminary agreement on a broader accord in a phone call earlier Thursday with her counterparts from Turkey, France and Britain. But Turkey raised last-minute objections Thursday evening, a diplomat said.
The Obama administration is eager to transfer military command to NATO to portray the 6-day-old operation as an international humanitarian mission, rather than a U.S.-led offensive in another Muslim country.
President Barack Obama is facing mounting pressure from Congress about the operation’s goals and the extent of U.S. involvement. The president has promised to turn over control of the mission within “days, not weeks,” with the U.S. assuming a supporting role.
Whatever happens in NATO, the coalition might continue to have a U.S. face. NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Thursday that leadership of the operations in Libya would be determined by the alliance’s normal command structure, which would mean an American officer would be in charge.
However, a senior U.S. official said Thursday night that the task force overseeing the Libya operation would be led by a Canadian, Lt. Gen. Charles Bouchard.
“Unity within NATO”
Rasmussen said that NATO had agreed only to assume responsibility for enforcing a no-fly zone and an arms embargo against Libya. Alliance members were debating whether NATO would take on the more controversial role of protecting civilians on the ground by striking Libyan tanks and troops, not just its planes, he said.
“We have not decided yet whether we will take on the broader responsibility,” Rasmussen said in an interview with CNN’s “The Situation Room.”
He played down the possibility of a split, saying that “there is unity within NATO.”
American diplomats said NATO members had agreed in principle on a broader agreement to include the entire civilian protection mission. Clinton said Thursday evening that the 28 NATO countries had authorized military authorities to develop a plan for that operation.
A senior administration official said in a conference call with reporters that the military operations plan would be finished over the weekend.
“Then we need to execute it. The key issue here is a political agreement. Up to this point, there was no agreement in the alliance,” he said, speaking under ground rules of anonymity.
One Western diplomat said, however, that the Turks had balked on reaching a final agreement because of their uneasiness with the coalition’s ground attacks, which have raised concerns in the Arab world over possible civilian deaths.
“The Turks don’t like the airstrikes,” the diplomat said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
American diplomats said the coalition had agreed in principle to set up a structure in which NATO’s military command would oversee offensive operations while its political body, the North Atlantic Council, would provide overall guidance.
Non-NATO countries would participate in the structures, much as they do as part of the coalition fighting in Afghanistan, diplomats said.
If NATO does assume full control over the Libyan operations, the United States would still play a prominent role in the mission, providing air refueling tankers and surveillance planes, officials said.
American aircraft would also continue to fly combat strike missions after the transfer, said Vice Adm. Bill Gortney, director of the Joint Staff in the Pentagon.
GOP launches questions
Congress, meanwhile, is growing more impatient with U.S. action in Libya.
“The limited, sometimes contradictory, case made to the American people by members of your Administration has left some fundamental questions about our engagement unanswered,” House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, wrote in a letter to Obama on Wednesday.
Among the issues raised by the speaker and by others is the fact that while the president has stated a goal of removing Khadafy from power, the U.N. Security Council resolution that authorizes the current airstrikes embraces a different one — protecting civilians.
Given that contradiction, Boehner wrote, is it an acceptable outcome for Khadafy “to remain in power after the military effort concludes in Libya? If not, how will he be removed from power?”
In an interview on CNN, deputy national security adviser Denis McDonough said that Boehner had raised “a very legitimate set of questions.” He also acknowledged that “it’s important to bring the country along.”
