NATO was the base of a unified intervention to protect civilians from forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, NATO\'s chief said from Washington. NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen met in Washington with U.S. President Barack Obama and high-ranking members of his administration to prepare for a summit for the defense alliance in Chicago next year. Rasmussen said during his visit that NATO\'s Operation Unified Protector was a success for the alliance in the 21st-century threat environment. \"European nations and Canada led the strike operations. The United States provided unique and critical assets. Partners from the Arab world and beyond joined us from the start,\" he said in a statement. \"And NATO\'s command structure merged all this into one successful team.\" NATO ended its mission Oct. 31, a few days after Gadhafi died after falling into rebel hands. Susan Rice, the U.S. envoy to the United Nations, said the language Washington maneuvered into a resolution backing military force in Libya gave international forces the wiggle room to strike Gadhafi\'s forces. Obama, in a readout of his meeting from the White House, agreed with Rasmussen that \"by acting quickly and decisively NATO saved the lives of thousands of Libyan civilians.\" Rasmussen had said that NATO wouldn\'t play a major role in post-war Libya.