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| Africa North |
| Initial bombing called successful |
| 2011-03-21 |
| WASHINGTON — The US claimed initial success two days into an assault on Libya that included some of the heaviest firepower in the American arsenal — long-range bombers designed for the Cold War — but American officials on Sunday said it was too early to define the international military campaign’s end game. A second wave of attacks, mainly from American fighters and bombers, targeted Libyan ground forces and air defences, following an opening barrage Saturday of sea-launched Tomahawk cruise missiles. Pentagon officials said they were studying the extent of damage done and the need for further attacks. One senior military official said the early judgment was that the attacks had been highly successful, while not fully eliminating the threat posed by Libyan air defences. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence data. The systems targeted most closely were Libya’s SA-5 surface-to-air missiles, Russian-made weaponry that could pose a threat to allied aircraft many miles (kilometers) off the Libyan coastline. Libya has a range of other air defence weaponry, including portable surface-to-air missiles. Sunday’s attacks, carried out by a range of US aircraft — including Air Force B-2 stealth bombers as well as Marine Harrier jets flying from an amphibious assault ship in the Mediterranean — demonstrated the predominance of US firepower in the international coalition. US missiles and warplanes were clearly in the lead Saturday and Sunday, but US officials say the plan remains for the US to step back once the threat from the Libyan military is reduced. Although the mission was predicated on Arab support, there was no reported Arab participation in the military strikes. |
| Posted by:Steve White |