support aircraft would provide airborne surveillance, refueling and radar-jamming capabilities, and several F-16s may participate in patrols over no-fly zones above Tripoli and Benghazi. "Our mission right now is to shape the battle space in such a way that our partners may take the lead in…execution."Īs the campaign evolves, officials said, U.S. aircraft will be involved in air strikes over Libya tonight, he said. "At this point we are creating the conditions to be able to set up a no fly zone, and once we have established and confirmed that the conditions are right then we will move forward into one of the next phases of the campaign," Gortney told reporters. resolution.īut Pentagon officials cautioned that despite the initial military actions, an enforced no-fly zone over Libya was not yet in effect and will take time to establish. So let me be very clear on the position of the United States: We will support an international coalition as it takes all necessary measures to enforce" the U.N. "Further delay will only put more civilians at risk.
![tomahawk cruise missile tomahawk cruise missile](https://fightersweep.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/800px-US_Navy_030114-N-XXXXX-001_USS_Florida_launches_a_Tomahawk_cruise_missile_during_Giant_Shadow_in_the_waters_off_the_coast_of_the_Bahamas.jpg)
"We have every reason to fear that left unchecked, Gadhafi would commit unspeakable atrocities," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told reporters following the meeting in Paris. Because of darkness over Libya, Gortney said it was too early to determine the strikes' effectiveness. They targeted Libyan air defense missile sites, early warning radar and key communications facilities around Tripoli, Misratah, and Surt, but no areas east of that or near Benghazi. Gortney told reporters at a Pentagon briefing. surface ships and one British submarine in the Mediterranean Sea at 2 p.m. The first air strikes, in what is being called Operation Odyssey Dawn, were launched from a mix of U.S. "But we cannot stand idly by when a tyrant tells his people that there will be no mercy." "I want the American people to know that the use of force is not our first choice and it's not a choice I make lightly," Obama said. President Obama, speaking from Brazil shortly after he authorized the missile attacks, said they were part of a "limited military action" to protect the Libyan people.
![tomahawk cruise missile tomahawk cruise missile](https://image.cnbcfm.com/api/v1/image/100996975-ToolTomahawk-cruise-missiles.jpg)
March 19, 2011 - More than 112 Tomahawk cruise missiles struck over 20 targets inside Libya today in the opening phase of an international military operation the Pentagon said was aimed at stopping attacks led by Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and enforcing a U.N.-backed no-fly zone.