US won't have dominant role in Libya action: Gates

ABOARD A US MILITARY AIRCRAFT (AFP) – US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Sunday the United States would not play a “preeminent role” in military action against Libya, with other countries soon taking the lead.

US President Barack Obama “felt strongly, I would say, about limiting the scale of US military involvement in this,” Gates told reporters on his plane, en route to Russia.

“We will have a military role in the coalition. But we will not have the preeminent role,” Gates said.

In deciding to back intervention in Libya, Obama stressed the “importance of a meaningful coalition” with partners “making serious military contributions,” Gates said.

“It is pretty clear that we agreed to use our unique capabilities and with the breadth of those capabilities at the front end of this process, then we expected in a matter of days to be able to turn over the primary responsibility to others,” he said.

Gates, who delayed his scheduled trip to Russia by a day to monitor the start of US military air attacks against Moamer Kadhafi’s regime, said the operation had gotten off to a “strong and successful start.”

Obama’s decision to launch military action against Libya enjoyed “unanimous” backing from his top advisers after a thorough review, said Gates, who had previously struck a skeptical tone on intervention in public comments.

Without revealing his own advice to Obama, Gates said that any president weighing military force “should demand a spirited debate” among his advisers.

“There has not been a question asked publicly in the last 24 hours or so that wasn’t discussed in-depth in the lead-up to the launching of this operation,” he said.

“Whatever positions people took . . . there was unanimous support for the course he decided on,” he said.

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