BEIJING - As US and European forces rained missiles and bombs on Libya over the weekend, international consensus remained elusive on the intervention scheme.

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Meanwhile, scholars and media from countries including those that launched the attacks questioned the right for US and European troops to use force, and their aims behind that.

Following a marathon run of meetings in Brussels, NATO ambassadors failed to agree on how the alliance would participate in enforcing a UN-endorsed no-fly zone over the unrest-torn Northern African country.

Among the 28 NATO members that have veto power, Britain, France and the United States launched strikes on Libyan targets on Saturday and Sunday, and Turkey remained averse to NATO intervention.

Arab League chief Amr Moussa on Sunday criticized the multinational bombardment against Libya.

"What has happened in Libya differs from the goal of imposing a no-fly zone, and what we want is the protection of civilians and not bombing civilians," he said.

Meanwhile, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned on Sunday against attempts to expand the goals of military strikes against Libya, saying that such moves would complicate the consensus around the UN resolution.

"It's important that we operate within the mandate of the UN Security Council resolution," he said on board a plane en route to Russia in his first public comment on the intervention operation.

Noting that the mission was backed by a diverse coalition, Gates said that additional objectives would "create a problem".

The Pentagon chief also cautioned against getting too involved in the internal conflict in Libya, saying that it should be resolved by Libyans themselves.

The role of the United States in commanding the multinational operation is also subject to change. The US is currently commanding the mission, but Gates said that his country would relinquish control "in a matter of days" but would "continue to be part of the coalition".

Rolf Mutzenich, foreign policy spokesman for the Social Democratic Party of Germany, criticized on Monday the decision of the country's foreign minister to categorically rule out the threat of a no-fly zone as a mistake, said the Deutsche Presse Agentur (DPA).

"By doing so, he unnecessarily tied our hands and our ability to negotiate," Mutzenich told DPA.

On the other hand, the strikes have sparked protests in the US and other countries. Athens, Greece, saw thousands of people hitting the streets on Sunday in an anti-military march to protest the West's involvement in Libya.

Gong Shaopeng, a professor with China Foreign Affairs University, compared the strikes to the 1999 Kosovo war.

Although the US is hardly beginning a "third foreign war" under domestic pressures, he said, it's not possible for the international military forces to achieve the goal of overturning Gadhafi's government if they do not send ground troops directly into Libya.

"The US is hoping to fight another Kosovo war with Libya, and topple Gadhafi without too much involvement abroad, but it depends on whether Gadhafi is another Slobodan Milosevic or Saddam Hussein - if he chooses to hide underground, how can they win by not sending ground forces?"

Xinhua - China Daily