Canadian general to take NATO command of Libya

A Canadian general will take over command of the NATO mission in Libya.

Canadian Defense Minister Peter MacKay said Friday that Lt.-Gen. Charles Bouchard has been designated to lead the alliance's military campaign in Libya.

Bouchard, a lieutenant-general whose rank is equivalent to a three-star U.S. general, is stationed in Naples, Italy, at the Allied Joint Force Command.

Bouchard's recent job was deputy commander of NORAD, reporting to an American general.

"He will be a commander of the NATO operations, yet to be fully defined NATO operations," MacKay said.

The international coalition confronting Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi has agreed to put NATO in charge of enforcing the no-fly zone. It was still trying to hammer out a deal to relieve U.S. forces of command of all military operations in the country.

U.S. President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Robert Gates have both said that American command of the operations would last only a few days.