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Gates warns against widening Libya mission


U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Sunday the Libyan operation is off to "a strong and successful start" but he warned against widening the goals of the mission beyond what was spelled out in the United Nations Security Council resolution.
He also brushed aside suggestions that there was a split inside the upper echelons of the Obama administration over whether to push forward with military action, saying there had been what he called unanimous agreement.
"Whatever positions people took in that debate, and in that discussion, there was unanimous support for the approach the president had decided on," Gates said on board the plane taking him on a previously scheduled trip to Russia. The defense secretary delayed his trip by a day just after the start of the Libyan offensive.
Gates has been a vocal opponent of the U.S. enforcing a no-fly zone, cautioning that it was a complicated, risky military operation.He defended his comments in recent weeks, which seemed to signal his personal opposition to U.S. military participation.
"When I said, 'Let's call a spade a spade,' it was that a no-fly zone begins with an attack on Libya and I think that was a pretty accurate statement. So I think what I've tried to do is really just make clear what is involved in this and that it is a complex undertaking," Gates said.
He portrayed a full debate on how to proceed.

12:41 | |

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