Who's In Charge? What's The Objective? What Will Victory Look Like?

Just a few of the inevitable questions when you have a leaderless military operation.

The US government, wary of getting stuck in another war in a Muslim country, would like to hand control of the mission over to NATO, but the alliance is divided. At a meeting on Monday, NATO ambassadors failed to agree on whether the alliance should take control of the mission. NATO involvement would require approval by all 28 members.

France has opposed handing control to NATO because of Arab skepticism about the alliance, which is perceived as being dominated by the US. . . . Turkey, an alliance member which sees itself as a bridge to the Muslim world, is opposing NATO control of the operation. . . . Britain and Italy want the alliance to be in charge of the operation, however.

London's Daily Mail reports that the Germans--whose diplomats helped draft the U.N. resolution authorizing the operation, then refused to vote for it because it was too strong--are withdrawing assets from the Mediterranean "after fears they would be drawn into the conflict if NATO takes over control from the U.S."