March 19, 2011
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Military Action Against Libya
President Barack Obama authorized limited military action against Libya Saturday, saying Moammar Gadhafi‘s continued assault on his own people
left the U.S. and its international partners with no other choice. The Pentagon said it fired 110 cruise missiles at 20 targets.
Obama said military
action was not his first choice.
“This is not an outcome US or any of our
partners sought,”
Obama said from Brazil, where he is starting a five-day
visit to Latin America. “We
cannot stand idly by when a tyrant tells his people there will be no mercy.”
A senior military official said the U.S. launched air defenses Saturday with
strikes along the Libyan coast that were launched by Navy vessels in the
Mediterranean. The official said the assault would unfold in stages and target
air defense installations around Tripoli, the capital, and a coastal area south of Benghazi, the rebel stronghold.
Obama declared once again that the United States would not send ground forces to Libya, though he
said he is “deeply aware” of the risks of taking any military action.
Earlier in the day, Obama warned that the international community was
prepared to act with urgency.
Our consensus was strong, and our resolve is
clear. The people of Libya must be protected, and in the absence of an immediate
end to the violence against civilians our coalition is prepared to act, and to
act with urgency,” Obama said.
Top officials from the U.S., Europe and the
Arab world meeting in Paris,
where they announced Saturday immediate military action to protect civilians
caught in combat between Gadhafi’s forces and
rebel fighters. American ships
and aircraft were poised for action but weren’t participating in the initial
French air missions.
As the military action was announced, French fighter jets swooped over Benghazi,
the opposition stronghold that was stormed by Libyan government forces earlier
Saturday, in defiance of a
proclaimed ceasefire.
France, Britain and the
United States had warned Gadhafi Friday that they would resort to military means
if he ignored the U.N. resolution demanding a cease-fire.
The United States
has a host of forces and ships in the area, including submarines, destroyers,
amphibious assault and landing
ships.
The U.S. intended to limit its involvement — at least in the initial
stages — to helping protect French and other air missions by taking out Libyan
air defenses, but depending on the response could launch additional attacks in
support of allied forces, a
U.S. official said. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of
the sensitivity of military operations.
(Copyright 2011 by The
Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
