United States might step back from leading Libyan military mission

PanARMENIAN.Net - Control of Operation Odyssey Dawn is likely to be transferred from the US, UK and France to NATO in a few days, despite objections from Paris, which feels the alliance has a poor reputation among Arabs, according to The First Post.

President Barack Obama, addressing the situation in Libya during a trip to Chile, told reporters that a condition for the United States to step back from leading the Libyan military mission is the disabling of Libya's air defenses. This is so that NATO allies and other coalition partners can effectively enforce a no-fly zone, he said, CNN reported.

"We anticipate this transition to take place in a matter of days, not weeks," Obama said.

President Barack Obama repeated Monday, March 21, that Moammar Gadhafi "needs to go," but he acknowledged the Libyan dictator may remain in power for some time because the allied military mission in North Africa has a more narrow mandate of just protecting innocent civilians.

"Our military action is in support of an international mandate from the Security Council that specifically focuses on the humanitarian threat posed by Colonel Gadhafi's people," Obama said at a news conference.

But Obama said he's still hopeful that other "tools" the administration has used, such as freezing billions in Libyan assets, will eventually help the Libyan people push Gadhafi out.