言承旭女友张熙恩:U.S. ending its air combat role in Libya - Fo...

来源：百度文库编辑：九乡新闻网时间：2024/04/19 16:46:04

U.S. ending its air combat role in Libya

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The Pentagon is about to pull its attack planes out of the international air campaign in Libya, hoping NATO partners can take up the slack.

The announcement Thursday drew incredulous reactions from some in Congress who wondered aloud why the Obama administration would bow out of a key element of the strategy for protecting Libyan civilians and crippling Moammar Gadhafi’s army.

“Odd,” “troubling” and “unnerving” were among critical comments by senators pressing for an explanation of the announcement by Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs chairman Adm. Mike Mullen that American combat missions will end Saturday.

“Your timing is exquisite,” Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said sarcastically, alluding to Gadhafi’s military advances this week and the planned halt to U.S. airstrikes. “I believe this would be a profound mistake with potentially disastrous consequences.”

Gates and Mullen, in back-to-back appearances before the House and Senate armed services committees, also forcefully argued against putting the U.S. in the role of arming or training Libyan rebel forces, while suggesting it might be a job for Arab or other countries. The White House has said repeatedly that it has not ruled out arming the rebels, who have retreated pell-mell this week under the pressure of a renewed eastern offensive by Gadhafi’s better-armed and better-trained ground troops.

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“My view would be, if there is going to be that kind of assistance to the opposition, there are plenty of sources for it other than the United States,” Gates said.

The White House press secretary, Jay Carney, said he saw no contradiction between Gates’ remarks and President Barack Obama’s statement that “he has not ruled it in or out.” As yet, none of Obama’s top advisers have publicly advocated a significant expansion of the U.S. role aiding the opposition.

Gates said no one should be surprised by the U.S. combat air pullback, but he called the timing “unfortunate” in light of Gadhafi’s battlefield gains. He noted that the air attacks are a central feature of the overall military strategy; over time they could degrade Gadhafi’s firepower to a point that he would be unable to put down a renewed uprising by opposition forces, he said.

The other major source of U.S. firepower during the two weeks of combat in Libya has been the Navy’s Tomahawk cruise missile, launched from ships and submarines in the Mediterranean. None was fired overnight Thursday, U.S. defense officials said Friday. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss such details.

The number of U.S. Navy ships involved in the campaign had shrunk to nine as of Friday, compared to 11 at the start of the operation, and it is likely to shrink further in the days ahead, other defense officials said. Among targets struck in western Libya overnight Thursday by U.S. Air Force F-15 and F-16 fighters were a radar site and a military vehicle that transports and elevates missiles into firing position, one of the defense officials said.

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Obama had made clear that once U.S. air power silenced Gadhafi’s air defenses, permitting the establishment of a no-fly zone over the North African country, the U.S. would reduce its role and let NATO take the lead. The U.S. now finds itself in the unusual position of a back-seat partner in the Libya operation, with no clear path to empowering the rebels.

US pulling Tomahawk missiles out of Libya combat

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The Pentagon will soon stop firing Tomahawk cruise missiles against Libya, in addition to pulling its attack planes out of the international air campaign, two U.S. defense officials said Friday.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on Thursday announced in congressional testimony the decision to withdraw U.S. combat aircraft from the NATO-commanded mission as of this coming Sunday.

They made no mention of putting the Tomahawk-firing ships and subs on standby as well. But the U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military planning, said the Pentagon won't fire the powerful long-range missiles unless the situation changes.

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After the U.S. standdown takes effect on Sunday, Navy ships and submarines armed with Tomahawks will remain in the Mediterranean in position to resume firing if requested by NATO and approved by the Pentagon, the officials said. U.S. attack aircraft at land bases in Italy and aboard a Navy amphibious ship will also be at the ready, the officials said.

The U.S. military will continue providing a range of support, including aerial refueling and aerial surveillance and reconnaissance. NATO aircraft will perform the combat role as well as patrol a no-fly zone.

As of Friday morning, a total of 221 U.S. Tomahawks had been launched since the military campaign began March 19, according to Pentagon figures. In addition, British naval vessels had launched seven Tomahawks. The cruise missiles use satellite navigation devices to find their targets, which have included air defense sites along the Libyan coast and at inland locations, as well as surface-to-surface missile storage facilities.

With the U.S. pullback, the expectation is that Britain, France, Denmark, Belgium and other NATO partners can bear the full air-combat burden.

Air Force Times/ AP

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