US Defense Secretary Robert Gates says it would be "unwise" to have coalition forces try to kill Moamer Gaddafi in military strikes in Libya.
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.
"I think that it's important that we operate within the mandate of the UN Security Council resolution," he said.
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.
"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."
He also expressed caution about providing direct support to rebel forces and referred to a long term "process" that could see Gaddafi toppled.
"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."
Initially, the goal was to shut down Gaddafi's air force to safeguard civilians, he said.
"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.
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.
"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.
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.
"I think there is a sensitivity on the part of the Arab League to being seen to be operating under a NATO umbrella. And so the question is, if there's a way we can work out NATO's command and control machinery without it being a NATO mission and without a NATO flag and so on," he said.
"There are a lot of players in this. And I think our first objective is to accomplish the mandate set forth in the Security Council resolution and I think we've made good progress in doing that."
Gates said Washington and other governments hoped Libya would not break up as a result of the battle between Gaddafi's regime and opposition forces, but it was too soon to make predictions.
"We don't know what the future holds. All countries would like to see Libya remain a unified state," he said.
"Having states in the region begin to break up because of internal differences I think is a formula for real instability in the future."
The Pentagon chief also said he was satisfied about the role of Arab militaries in the coalition, saying the countries needed time to prepare for a groundbreaking step.
"I would say we received strong indications from several Arab states that they would participate. This is a new endeavor for them, and the notion that it takes a while to get it organized, and get there, I think shouldn't be a surprise."
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