Libya assault: UN's calculated gamble Skip to main content

Libya assault: UN's calculated gamble


A pilot sits in the cockpit of a French Dassault Mirage 2000-5 aircraft before taking off on a mission to overfly Libyan airspace at Dijon base military  handout March 19, 2011. French forces have already flown a mission over Libya
Some of the earliest key targets in the UN-backed assault on Libya are likely to be Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's command and control capabilities, as well as his air defences, which could still pose a threat to foreign aircraft.
British Prime Minister David Cameron has said that British forces are already in action in the Libya operation, which is codenamed Operation Ellamy in the UK (the Americans are calling it Odyssey Dawn).
At their home bases in the UK, Tornado GR4 ground attack aircraft and Typhoons for the air-to-air attack role are well prepared for what is to come.
British warships are already off the coast in Libya to ensure the arms embargo is respected.
Submarines have also been deployed for this mission, while experts say they would expect special forces to be in Libya already, having prepared the ground and assessed targets - their role, to send back vital information to those preparing and conducting the strikes from the skies or the seas.
The French have already bombed Libyan tanks and jeeps.
Demoralising Gaddafi's forces The main British contribution to this coalition are fighter jets, Sentinel R1 and Nimrod R1 reconnaissance and surveillance aircraft (AWACs) to give vital information about what's happening on the ground, plus VC10 tanker planes for air-to-air-refuelling.
As part of the broad coalition, the US is also helping to remove the threat from Libya's air defences with sea-launched missiles.
However, commanders will face tough decisions on what to target in the coming hours and days, so accurate intelligence from the ground is essential.
While the hi-tech jets provided by France, the UK, Denmark, Norway, Canada and others should be able to dominate the skies easily, the mission to protect Libya's civilians runs a host of risks - from the dangers faced by pilots involved in the bombing raids, to the danger of civilian casualties if something goes wrong, especially with Col Gaddafi's forces so close to Benghazi.
For the allies in the air, it is a calculated gamble. The UN resolution is wide-ranging, giving the coalition leeway not just to disable Col Gaddafi's air defences but also target Libyan ground forces.
The hope is that this international show of strength from the air will demoralise his forces rapidly, and encourage them to flee or defect.
At the very least, his ground forces will need to be pushed back from Benghazi and other rebel areas, if civilians are to be protected from attack. The Libyan forces loyal to Col Gaddafi already have very stretched supply lines across the open desert, which will be vulnerable to attack.
But while the coalition in the air has a huge array of resources, those taking part are all too aware that their enormous firepower must be used carefully to ensure they do not endanger the very people the allies are there to protect.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12797435

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Chronology of the Press in Burma

1836 – 1846 * During this period the first English-language newspaper was launched under British-ruled Tenasserim, southern  Burma . The first ethnic Karen-language and Burmese-language newspapers also appear in this period.     March 3, 1836 —The first English-language newspaper,  The Maulmain Chronicle , appears in the city of Moulmein in British-ruled Tenasserim. The paper, first published by a British official named E.A. Blundell, continued up until the 1950s. September 1842 —Tavoy’s  Hsa-tu-gaw  (the  Morning Star ), a monthly publication in the Karen-language of  Sgaw ,  is established by the Baptist mission. It is the first ethnic language newspaper. Circulation reached about three hundred until its publication ceased in 1849. January 1843 —The Baptist mission publishes a monthly newspaper, the Christian  Dhamma  Thadinsa  (the  Religious Herald ), in Moulmein. Supposedly the first Burmese-language newspaper, it continued up until the first year of the second Angl

Thai penis whitening trend raises eyebrows

Image copyright LELUXHOSPITAL Image caption Authorities warn the procedure could be quite painful A supposed trend of penis whitening has captivated Thailand in recent days and left it asking if the country's beauty industry is taking things too far. Skin whitening is nothing new in many Asian countries, where darker skin is often associated with outdoor labour, therefore, being poorer. But even so, when a clip of a clinic's latest intriguing procedure was posted online, it quickly went viral. Thailand's health ministry has since issued a warning over the procedure. The BBC Thai service spoke to one patient who had undergone the treatment, who told them: "I wanted to feel more confident in my swimming briefs". The 30-year-old said his first session of several was two months ago, and he had since seen a definite change in the shade. 'What for?' The original Facebook post from the clinic offering the treatment, which uses lasers to break do

Is 160 enough? One Indian man's family

By Sumnima Udas , CNN October 31, 2011 -- Updated 0857 GMT (1657 HKT) Ziona, center, with his has 39 wives, 86 children and 35 grandchildren in rural Baktwang village, India. STORY HIGHLIGHTS One man in India is the patriarch of a family of 160 in rural India Ziona, who only goes by his first name, has 39 wives, 86 children and 35 grandchildren. Ziona's father, Chana, founded the Christian sect in Baktwang that promotes polygamy "I never wanted to get married but that's the path God has chosen for me" Mizoram, India (CNN) -- The world's population hits 7 billion this week, but Ziona, the patriarch of what may be the biggest family in the world, is not bothered. "I don't care about overpopulation in India ... I believe God has chosen us to be like this (have big families). Those who are born into this family don't want to leave this tradition so we just keep growing and growing," he says with a smile. Ziona, who only goes by his f