NATO To Enforce No Fly Zone, US To Protect Libyans

The U.S. will hand off the enforcement of the no-fly zone over Libya to NATO, but the military coalition has not yet decided when they will take over full operations.

“It is of utmost importance to get this right,” Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO’s Secretary General, told reporters Thursday. “It’s a serious decision, and this is the reason why we have spent some time to reach this conclusion, but compared to the past we have actually done it quite quickly.”

Meanwhile, the U.S. will continue to command efforts to protect the country’s civilians.

“This mission will remain in U.S. hands until such time as the coalition is ready to assume it,” Vice Admiral Bill Gortney told reporters at the Penatgon Friday. “My expectation is that it too could fall under NATO, but … these are decisions and discussions ongoing at the political level and I just would not speculate right now on where it would end up.”

In a statement Thursday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton cast the hand-off of the no-fly zone as “the next step,” but warned the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi still poses a threat to his people.

“This operation has already saved many lives, but the danger is far from over,” Clinton said. “As long as the Gaddafi regime threatens its people and defies the United Nations, we must remain vigilant and focused.”