Clinton: U.S. transferring no-fly zone over Libya to NATO
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Xinhua, March 25, 2011
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Thursday that the United States has agreed to hand over command of enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya to NATO.
"We are taking the next step -- we have agreed along with our NATO allies to transition command and control for the no-fly zone over Libya to NATO," Clinton said at the State Department, adding that all the 28 NATO allies have now "authorized military authorities to develop an operations plan for NATO to take on the broader civilian protection mission."
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told CNN on Thursday that "what we have decided today is that NATO will enforce the no-fly zone. We're considering whether NATO should take on that broader responsibility, but that decision has not been made yet."
"Without predicting the outcome of our deliberations, I think we might be able to take that decision within the coming days," he added.
In her prepared statement, Clinton also said that the coalition force is "in control of the skies over Libya."
She noted that the United Arab Emirates has agreed to send planes to enforce the no-fly zone, becoming the second Arab country after Qatar to join the U.S.-led military operation.
The top U.S. envoy said she will travel to London next week to attend an international meeting hosted by Britain to coordinate the strategy and military operation against Libya.
Having eliminated Libyan air defenses, U.S. military officials said the campaign has entered a second phase that will focus on decimating Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's ground forces. Coalition air strikes also increased over Tripoli, capital of Libya, with warplanes targeting fuel depots and local military installations.
