Now the questions are Nato’s to answer

Now, at least, we know: Nato will be taking charge of the no-fly zone that has been erected around Libya. And we might even welcome the news. As soon as the Americans made it clear that this was not their conflict to command, a new leadership arrangement was always going to be required — and Nato were the obvious choice. The only real barriers to their assumption of power have been French enthusiasm and Turkish reluctance, but they now appear to have been reconciled. In so far as this has clarified the next steps in Libya, it is a good thing.

But confusion remains, and in wholesale quantities. It’s not just that the divisions of responsibility are still not properly established — talks are still ongoing as to whether Nato should be given wider responsibility over the entire military operation — but that there are still differences of opinion on how to proceed.