After four days of contentious negotiations, NATO finally agreed to take control of enforcing the U.N.-mandated no-fly zone over Libya. The handover of command is a win for the Obama administration, which is eager to give up its lead role, but the scope of the deal is still unclear: NATO will still not lead the bombing of Moammar Gadhafi's ground forces, for example. Can Europe do the job without the U.S. calling the shots?
NATO is ready to lead: Obama was reluctant to deploy "America's firepower behind French and British efforts" to protect Libyan civilians from Gadhafi's bloodlust, says The Toronto Star in an editorial. But "having done the right thing, he can now safely hand off to close allies." NATO had to "paper over some internal disputes" to get this far, and "keeping NATO firmly in the driver’s seat is the only sensible way forward."
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