Allies launch aerial assault on Libya

American and European forces unleashed strikes against the Libyan government of Col. Moammar Gadhafi yesterday, launching warplanes and missiles in an international military intervention the Pentagon called the largest in the Arab world since the Iraq invasion.

The United States fired more than 100 cruise missiles from the sea while French fighter jets targeted Gadhafi's forces from the air in support of an uprising that had seemed on the verge of defeat. The U.S. military said 20 sites were hit as the missiles targeted air defense sites on or near the Mediterranean coast, many in the western half of the country, Gadhafi's stronghold. The French said they were focusing on the rebel-held east.

Libyan TV quoted the armed forces command as saying 48 people were killed and 150 wounded in the allied assault. It said most of the casualties were children but gave no more details. the report could not be independently verified.
 

President Barack Obama, speaking from Brazil, where he began a five-day Latin America visit, said military action was not his first choice.

"I'm deeply aware of the risks of any military action, no matter what limits we place on it," he said. "But we cannot stand idly by when a tyrant tells his people that there will be no mercy, and his forces step up their assaults on cities like Benghazi and Misrata, where innocent men and women face brutality and death at the hands of their own government."

The action, dubbed Operation Odyssey Dawn, came hours after Western and Arab leaders, including Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, met in Paris. They agreed to do everything necessary to make Gadhafi respect Thursday's UN resolution, which demands a cease-fire and allows "all necessary measures" to protect civilians from his forces.

As the military action was announced, French fighter jets swooped over Benghazi, the opposition stronghold stormed by Libyan government forces earlier yesterday in defiance of a government-proclaimed cease-fire. France, Britain and the United States had warned Gadhafi Friday they would resort to military action if he ignored the UN resolution.

Gadhafi vowed that Libya would defend itself from "crusader aggression," warning the international action will subject the Mediterranean and North Africa to danger and put civilians at risk. Gadhafi spoke around midnight yesterday local time in a phone call to Libyan state television.

In a briefing Saturday, U.S. Vice Adm. William Gortney said 112 Tomahawk missiles, fired from American warships and submarines and one British submarine, struck 20 air-defense targets around Tripoli, the capital, and the western city of Misrata. He said the strikes were against longer-range air defense missiles, early warning radar and main command-and-control communication centers.

A senior U.S. military official said the assault would unfold in stages and target air defense installations around Tripoli and a coastal area south of Benghazi.

Obama declared once again the United States would not send ground forces to Libya.

The United States 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 Libyan response, Washington could launch additional attacks in support of allied forces, another official said. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of military operations.

Obama emphasized the international support for the action and said he was proud the United States was acting as part of a coalition that included "partners who are prepared to meet their responsibilities."

"Make no mistake: today we are part of a broad coalition," he said, a contrast to the Iraq invasion that was opposed by many allies and by Obama himself. "We are acting in the interest of the United States and the world."