<p>Asked about remarks by British counterpart Liam Fox suggesting targeting Gaddafi himself, Gates said the allied operation should stick to the parameters as authorized by the UN Security Council.<br /><br />"I think that it's important that we operate within the mandate of the UN Security Council resolution," he said.<br /><br />Gates, who was speaking on a US military plane en route to Russia, said the intervention was backed by "a very diverse coalition" and warned that expanding its goals could complicate the consensus around the UN resolution.<br /><br />"If we start adding additional objectives then I think we create a problem in that respect," he said. "I also think it's unwise to set as specific goals things that you may or may not be able to achieve."<br /><br />He also expressed caution about providing direct support to rebel forces and referred to a long term "process" that could see Gaddafi toppled.<br /><br />"I think this is basically going to have to be resolved by the Libyans themselves," he said. "Whether or not there is additional outside help for the rebels I think remains to be seen."<br /><br />Initially, the goal was to shut down Gaddafi's air force to safeguard civilians, he said.<br />"The key is to first of all, establish the no-fly zone, to prevent him from using his military forces to slaughter his own people," he said.<br /><br />Asked about criticism about the air strikes from the head of the Arab League Amr Mussa, Gates said he was reassured by renewed support for the operation by the bloc.<br /><br />"I saw on the news just before I got on the plane that in fact the Arab League voted had again to reassert its support. So I think we're OK," he said.<br /><br />Gates said governments were discussing how best to organize the military command of the operation, with Arab states reluctant to have a NATO flag over the intervention.</p>
<p>Asked about remarks by British counterpart Liam Fox suggesting targeting Gaddafi himself, Gates said the allied operation should stick to the parameters as authorized by the UN Security Council.<br /><br />"I think that it's important that we operate within the mandate of the UN Security Council resolution," he said.<br /><br />Gates, who was speaking on a US military plane en route to Russia, said the intervention was backed by "a very diverse coalition" and warned that expanding its goals could complicate the consensus around the UN resolution.<br /><br />"If we start adding additional objectives then I think we create a problem in that respect," he said. "I also think it's unwise to set as specific goals things that you may or may not be able to achieve."<br /><br />He also expressed caution about providing direct support to rebel forces and referred to a long term "process" that could see Gaddafi toppled.<br /><br />"I think this is basically going to have to be resolved by the Libyans themselves," he said. "Whether or not there is additional outside help for the rebels I think remains to be seen."<br /><br />Initially, the goal was to shut down Gaddafi's air force to safeguard civilians, he said.<br />"The key is to first of all, establish the no-fly zone, to prevent him from using his military forces to slaughter his own people," he said.<br /><br />Asked about criticism about the air strikes from the head of the Arab League Amr Mussa, Gates said he was reassured by renewed support for the operation by the bloc.<br /><br />"I saw on the news just before I got on the plane that in fact the Arab League voted had again to reassert its support. So I think we're OK," he said.<br /><br />Gates said governments were discussing how best to organize the military command of the operation, with Arab states reluctant to have a NATO flag over the intervention.</p>