U.S., Coalition Attack Libyan Air-Defense Systems With ‘Operation Odyssey’

U.S., Coalition Attack Libyan Air-Defense Systems With ‘Operation Odyssey’ - Bloomberg: "President Barack Obama said the U.S. and its allies launched attacks on Libyan air defenses today to prevent Muammar Qaddafi from continuing his assault on civilians.

“We cannot stand idly by when a tyrant tells his people that there will be no mercy,” Obama said in Brasilia, Brazil, where he has started a scheduled five-day trip to Latin America. “We are answering the calls of a threatened people and we are acting in the interests of the United States and the world.”

By attacking anti-government strongholds in cities such as Benghazi, Qaddafi ignored the demands of the United Nations and turned aside the opportunity to avoid a military confrontation, the U.S. president said.

As many as 25 U.S., Canadian and Italian vessels, including the USS Mount Whitney command vessel, led an attack, dubbed “Odyssey Dawn,” that included U.S. Tomahawk cruise missiles and aerial jamming, according to a Pentagon official who spoke on the condition he not be identified. Aircraft from the U.K. and France were in the air over Libya.

Targets included four Libyan airfields near Tripoli and air-defense sites in the east, the official said. The official declined to speculate on the duration of the air-defense suppression operation."