That didn’t start as a NATO mission at all. It only became one after the US, UK, Canada and France had already started the mission and Italy wanted NATO to take control otherwise they wouldn’t join in. I don’t know the specifics of how it met criteria for NATO to be involved, but it certainly wasn’t something NATO started. It’s also probably better if NATO generals take over missions that are more western country based as that means all members have a say in what goes on and for how long. They even talk in the article about how the only ground forces were non-NATO troops and were not authorized by NATO.