On March 19, the U.S. military, as a member of an international coalition, launched its first set of missile attacks against Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi’s air defenses. These airstrikes, part of a collective military effort that is being called Operation Odyssey Dawn, were also aimed to impose a United-Nations-sanctioned no-fly zone in Libya to prevent further attacks by the Libyan government on its citizens.
In addition to the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Italy, and France have announced their participation in the coalition against the Libyan regime. Other nations are expected to announce their involvement soon.
According to U.S. Vice Admiral William Gortney, U.S. and British ships in the Mediterranean Sea launched over 110 Tomahawk missiles, striking more than 20 targets along the Libyan coastline, as well as around Tripoli, the capital.
There are currently 25 coalition ships in the Mediterranean; 11 belong to the U.S.
President Barack Obama, who is in Brazil as part of a five-day tour of Latin America, said the U.S. “cannot stand idly by when a tyrant tells his people there will be no mercy.” Obama added that U.S. ground forces would not be deployed in Libya at this stage.
Gaddafi vowed to attack military and civilian targets in the Mediterranean in retaliation of the airstrikes.
“The Mediterranean has become a real battlefield,” Gaddafi said in a brief telephone statement on state television. “It is now necessary to open the stores and arm all the masses with all types of weapons to defend the independence, unity and honor of Libya. […] Arms depots have been opened and all the Libyan people are being armed to defend the country against Western forces.”
The United Nations Security Council voted March 17 to ground Gaddafi’s air force and to grant military authority to the U.S. and its allies to protect civilians threatened by his forces.
“[Gaddafi’s] attacks on his own people have continued,” Obama said. “His forces have been on the move, and the danger faced by the people of Libya has grown.”
Today’s military action was taken after a summit hosted in Paris by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, during which world leaders spoke about the uprising in Libya.
After the summit, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Gaddafi had left the world no choice but to intervene urgently and forcefully to protect further loss of civilian life.
“We have every reason to fear that left unchecked, Gaddafi would commit unspeakable atrocities,” Clinton said at a news conference in Paris.
The Libyan uprising is part of a broader wave of unrest sweeping across the Middle East and North Africa calling for a wide range of reform.
