Bela Szandelszky / AP
NATO'S mission to Libya could come to a close as soon as next week, according to the head of U.S. Africa Command. The top commander, Gen. Carter Ham, told the Associated Press that American military leaders will convene with allies next week in Brussels, where they will give NATO ministers an assessment of the situation in Libya. Ham told the AP that the U.S. military would ensure that the rebels' National Transitional Council was in "reasonable control" of the country before NATO ended its mission, and added that it is nearing that goal. Since Muammar Gaddafi is still at large and his loyalists remain entrenched in parts of Sirte and Bani Walid, Ham said U.S. military forces and drones would likely stay in the region, though airstrikes would cease unless the NTC called for them.