U.S., allies agree on key NATO role for Libya

U.S., allies agree on key NATO role for Libya

By Andrew Quinn and Missy Ryan

(Reuters) - President Barack Obama Tuesday won British and French support for a NATO role in the air campaign against Libya's Muammar Gaddafi as the western allies thrashed out operational details aimed at transferring U.S. control of the mission.

Obama, lobbying hard to hand off U.S. command of Libya operations to allies within days, telephoned British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Nicolas Sarkozy and all agreed that the NATO alliance would play an important role, the White House said.

But the allies have stopped short of explicitly endorsing NATO political leadership of the mission, which they fear could be a hard sell for NATO member Turkey and undercut shaky Arab support for the effort to bolster anti-Gaddafi rebels.

<...>

Obama's personal diplomacy underscored that NATO's command-and-control capability will make it central to the unfolding campaign against Gaddafi's forces, which began with air strikes Saturday aimed at protecting civilians.

more

Obama, lobbying hard to hand off U.S. command of Libya operations to allies within days, telephoned British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Nicolas Sarkozy and all agreed that the NATO alliance would play an important role, the White House said.

But the allies have stopped short of explicitly endorsing NATO political leadership of the mission...

<...>

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Tuesday the alliance is activating ships and aircraft in the Mediterranean to intercept vessels suspected of carrying illegal arms or mercenaries to Libya. However, NATO has been unable to agree on taking command of the no-fly zone over Libya.

Meanwhile, more countries have informed the U.N. Security Council that they are now taking part in operations over Libya - Belgium, Norway, Spain, Ukraine, and the United Arab Emirates.

Romania has also said it will help enforce the Libyan arms embargo.

The United States has also imposed financial sanctions on 14 more Libyan oil company subsidiaries. This is in addition to the billions of dollars of sanctions already in place.

Mr. Obama also spoke earlier with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The White House says the two leaders agreed on the need for broad-based international effort, including Arab states.

<...>