BRUSSELS, March 22 (UPI) -- Europe is split over what role NATO should assume in the military operation in Libya.
The United States said it aims to hand over command as soon as possible. Britain, Norway and Italy want NATO to lead the airstrikes against Libyan forces.
"Clearly, the mission would benefit from that and from using NATO's tried-and-tested command-and-control machinery," British Prime Minister David Cameron said Monday in Parliament.
Norway and Italy have warned they might rethink their contributions if NATO isn't put in the leadership position.
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France, probably the most active European nation on Libya, prefers a British-French command. It says the Arab nations that might join the fighting couldn't possibly do so under a NATO flag due to the organization's unpopular war in Afghanistan.
Several of the 28 NATO members, frustrated by the bickering that has lasted for days now, have called on the parties to make up their mind. Those that have been suspicious of a large-scale military mission, namely military powerhouses Germany and Turkey, have seen domestic concerns over the mission increase.
While the bickering apparently didn't hinder successful operations -- Cameron said Monday that much of the Libyan air defense network was destroyed and a no-fly zone practically put in place -- it's not helping the prospect of other nations joining.
Especially Arab countries that want to know whether they'll fly under a NATO flag. Qatar has sent two jets to join French forces but they haven't taken part in missions. The United Arab Emirates said it might join but hasn't dispatched any personnel.
The French argument that a NATO leadership might deter them from joining is at least to be considered, observers say. The backing of Arab nations is crucial to boost the standing of the mission and it might become much more important if the coalition would be drawn into a longer-than-expected campaign, observers say.
There's also uncertainty over what happens when the U.N. resolution, adopted March 17 in the U.N. Security Council, is fully enforced. The resolution enables Western armed forces to protect civilians and establish a no-fly zone, yet it doesn't empower them to bring about regime change.
Regime change, however, is exactly what Western leaders want to achieve. Cameron, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and U.S. President Barack Obama have all said Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi must go.
So when to stop the air raids? When all air defense systems are wiped out? When Gadhafi's army is incapable of launching counterattacks? When his troops have defected?
All this will have to be decided by the power in charge of the operation and losing more time over who will actually lead won't help the West finding those answers.
