U.S. Tomahawk Cruise Missiles Hit Targets in Libya

U.S. military officials have confirmed the first American tomahawk cruise missiles have been fired at targets inside Libya from ships in the Mediterranean Sea.

The move is the first direct U.S. involvement in the international operation mobilizing to stop Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi’s attacks on opposition strongholds and enforce a U.N.-backed no-fly zone.

Pentagon officials said there were 11 U.S. ships stationed in the Mediterranean Sea, including three submarines and two destroyers capable of firing cruise missiles, and several amphibious ships and supply ships.

The first strikes in what is being called “Operation Odyssey Dawn” were expected to target air defense missile sites around Tripoli, Misratah, and Surt, but no areas east of that or near Benghazi, officials said.

President Obama told members of Congress Friday that he had not yet authorized the use of U.S. planes, but a senior military official said Saturday that U.S. aircraft would be involved. It’s unclear if those planes include bombers and fighters among support aircraft that could provide airborne surveillance, refueling and radar-jamming capabilities.

Earlier Saturday French warplanes destroyed several Libyan military vehicles, including tanks, in eastern Libya, as pro-Gadhafi forces battled towards the rebel stronghold of Benghazi, French Defense officials said.

At one point a fighter jet resembling a Libyan MiG 27 was shot down over the city, according to news reports from inside Libya.

Meanwhile, world leaders met in Paris to discuss the nature and scope of the international military intervention to make Gadhafi respect a U.N. Security Council resolution that authorized “all necessary measures” to protect Libyan civilians.

“Our planes are blocking the air attacks on the city” of Benghazi, French President Nicholas Sarkozy said following the meeting. It was also clear the effort would target ground forces, including tanks, that might be used against the Libyan people.

French, British and Canadian aircraft were expected to launch sorties as night falls over the country, ahead of a larger coalition deployment that could happen later in the day. Spain and Denmark have also contributed fighter planes to the international force.

“We have every reason to fear that left unchecked, Gadhafi would commit unspeakable atrocities,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told reporters following the meeting in Paris. “Further delay will only put more civilians at risk. So let me be very clear on the position of the United States: We will support an international coalition as it takes all necessary measures to enforce” the U.N. resolution.

President Obama, in Brazil for the first stop on a trip to Latin America, told reporters the international consensus on Libya remained “strong, and our resolve is clear.”

“The people of Libya must be protected,” Obama said at a press conference with Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff. “And in the absence of an immediate end to the violence against civilians, our coalition is prepared to act and act with urgency.”

Gadhafi warned the international coalition Friday not to interfere in Libyan affairs, calling the U.N. resolution “invalid” and appealing directly to world leaders, including President Obama, in a letter.

“Libya is not yours. Libya is for the Libyans,” he said in the letter. “If you had found them taking over American cities with armed force, tell me what you would do.”

The United States, Britain and France issued a joint statement late Friday, with backing from several Arab countries, warning the “international community will make him [Gadhafi] suffer the consequences” unless he stops the attacks, restores water, electric and gas services and allows humanitarian aid to enter the country.

Libya Action Follows Failed Diplomacy

Military action in Libya follows weeks of intensive, international diplomatic pressure on Gadhafi to cease the violence and pull back from rebel-held cities.

The Security Council approved a resolution late Thursday authorizing the international community to take “all necessary measures,” short of sending in ground troops, to protect civilians in Libya, and to impose a no-fly zone. The resolution does not authorize taking out Gadhafi or regime change.

“The [U.N.] resolution that passed lays out very clear conditions that must be met,” Obama said Friday.

“These terms are not subject to negotiation. If Gadhafi does not comply with the resolution, the international community will impose consequences and the resolution will be enforced through military action,” he said.

Exactly what role the U.S. military would play in enforcement of the resolution remains unclear.

“We will support an international coalition as it takes all necessary measures to enforce the terms of resolution 1973,” Secretary of State Clinton said today in Paris.

But Clinton declined to detail U.S. responsibilities in a supporting an attack, other than to say that the United States would offer “unique capabilities.” She emphasized that the United States will not deploy ground troops in Libya.

During a meeting with a bipartisan group of members of Congress Friday, Obama said he expects active U.S. involvement in any military action would last just “days, not weeks,” sources told ABC News.

Decision to Use Force Came Tuesday

Sources told ABC News that Obama’s decision to support the use of force came Tuesday, following several days of internal administration deliberations and the realization that diplomatic efforts to stop the brutality of Gadhafi’s regime weren’t working.

Presented with intelligence about the push of the Gadhafi regime to the rebel stronghold of Benghazi, the president told his national security team, “What we’re doing isn’t stopping him.”

Some in his administration, such as Clinton, had been pushing for stronger action, but it wasn’t until Tuesday, administration sources tell ABC News, that the president became convinced sanctions and the threat of a no-fly zone wouldn’t be enough.

“We are not going to use force to go beyond a well-defined goal, specifically the protection of civilians in Libya,” Obama said Friday.

While the United States has been leading the charge behind the scenes, officials say, the administration deferred public action to the State Department and the United Nations in an effort to emphasize that the mission reflects a broad, international coalition, including support from Arab allies.

World Preparing for Military Action Against Libya

Gadhafi’s son, Saif, told ABC News via a phone interview that the U.N. resolution is a “big mistake” and that if the United States wants to help, they should in fact help the government.

“We want to live in peace, so we want even Americans to help us get rid of the remnants of those people and to have a peaceful country, more democratic,” he said. “If you want to help us, help us to, you know, to be democracy, more freedom, peaceful, not to threaten us with air strikes. We will not be afraid. Come on!”

U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norman Schwartz said Thursday it could take upwards of a week to fully establish a no-fly zone and that public comments by some that it could be done in a few days are “overly optimistic.”

He acknowledged there are limited Air Force assets because most of them are in Iraq and Afghanistan, especially transport aircraft.

Last week, Department of National Intelligence director James Clapper said the Libyan air force was large in raw numbers, but only a small number of aircraft were actually flying.

A Pentagon analysis of Libya’s air capabilities shows the overall readiness of Libyan aircraft is poor by Western standards and most aircraft are now dated or obsolete in terms of avionics or upgrades. Eighty percent of the air force is judged to be “non-operational and “overhaul and combat repair capability is also limited.”

ABC News