US to transfer control of Libya force in days

The United States will transfer control of the air assault on Libyan forces within days, President Barack Obama said, even as European divisions fuelled speculation that US leadership would continue.

Obama's comments reflected a US desire to have others be seen to lead the UN-mandated campaign. It has destroyed most of Muammar Gaddafi's air defences since it began last Saturday and is the third US-led operation in a Muslim country in a decade.

"We anticipate this transition to take place in a matter of days and not in a matter of weeks," Obama told a news conference during a visit to Chile.

"NATO will be involved in a coordinating function because of the extraordinary capacity of that alliance" but details of the transfer -- when it would take place and to whom -- would be provided by US military chiefs, he said.

General Carter Ham, the US commander now leading the offensive, said the missile strikes had crippled Gaddafi's military prowess and set the stage for a broad no-fly zone stretching across most of northern Libya.

But as the days pass, doubts have been raised that the United States will be able to hand off control quickly, given Gaddafi's defiance and differences within NATO about the alliance's appropriate role in the Libya campaign.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said the intention was to transfer command to NATO but France said Arab countries did not want the US-led alliance in charge.

Rifts are also growing in the international community over the campaign, which Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin compared to "medieval crusades."

Although Obama has called for Gaddafi to leave, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said Libyans must ultimately determine his fate for themselves.

He said the US military would soon pass command of the operation to allies. "While we have had a major role in the first two or three days, I expect us very soon to recede back into a supporting role," Gates said during a visit to Russia.