U.S. pulls back some naval power off Libya

WASHINGTON -- In a sign of U.S. confidence that the weeklong assault on Libya has tamed Moammar Gadhafi's air defenses, the Pentagon has pulled back at least one ship arrayed against him, officials said yesterday.

The move reinforces the White House message of a diminishing U.S. role, a central point in President Barack Obama's national address tonight on Libya.

The White House booked Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Sunday news shows to promote the administration's case. Yet Gates, asked whether the military operation might be over by year's end, said, "I don't think anybody knows the answer to that."

The administration claimed progress in Libya, but lawmakers in both parties voiced skepticism over the length, scope and costs of the mission.

Obama is trying to address those issues in a speech that's expected to provide his fullest explanation of the U.S. role in Libya and what lies ahead.

Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) questioned whether it made sense to be involved at all. "I don't believe we should be engaged in Libyan civil war," Lugar said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), the Senate Armed Services Committee chairman, was supportive of the president's steps. "It is a flyover which is succeeding. It has set Gadhafi back. He's on his heels now."-- AP