Gaddafi's air force 'defeated'

Source: BBC

The commander of British aircraft operating over Libya has said that Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's air force "no longer exists as a fighting force".

Air Vice-Marshal Greg Bagwell said the allies could now operate "with near impunity" over the skies of Libya.

He said they were now applying unrelenting pressure on the Libyan armed forces.

He was speaking during a visit to RAF aircrew based at Gioia del Colle in southern Italy.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12837330

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"unrelenting pressure"

7:42 BBC A spokesman told the BBC:

“Misrata was in a desperate state yesterday, we almost lost all hope, but the strikes came at a good time with good intensity and frequency. They even managed to take out some convoys inside the city which was very impressive. Gaddafi’s forces have been hiding in a hospital… I can tell you that there’ve been zero casualties from international strikes… There are snipers on top of buildings; Gaddafi’s forces are still stationed on the main street – Tripoli street – but there’s no random shelling anymore… I’ve been able to go out, I’ve seen bakeries and groceries open for the first time in many days. The strikes made such a difference – Gaddafi’s forces are scared of them. I want to express our gratitude and appreciation for these actions, we will never ever forget!”

http://www.libyafeb17.com/

And from a Misrata resident.

and they were all killed by Gaddafi's bombing.
There have been several reports on those numbers.

Only the dead know.

...without spotters on the ground.

Then again if the Libyans came across a blasted Gaddafi column with a few civilian casualties surrounding it they are probably more likely to blame those on the loyalists, and they would likely be right!

All that's necessary now is to tot up the bill and send it to the opposition so's they can pay it, if and when they take control, out of Libya's $150 billion sovereign wealth fund.

What is and is not to be allowed in and out?

It's not over, it just started.

:)

Air war has been a precursor to ground troops in the other cases that I can think of (e.g. Afghanistan, Iraq twice, Viet Nam).

So, it's not impossible but it's not how the smart money bets.

We're also enforcing a no-tank zone, no-truck zone, no-boots zone, no-towed-cannon zone, etc.

There's plenty of war yet to come.

In other words, we don't stop until regime change.

we have to pay to rebuild their country, then occupy it until an acceptable government is seated and then trained well enough to retain their control.

It'll be more than a few days.

Which nation is next.

Nigeria has lots of oil.

wait ... you were joking, right?

:hide:

truth wrapped in a lie masquerading as a joke. :)

you crack me up!

:banghead:

On the ground? Troop columns too?

Impunity, eh?

Better be careful taking out those white Toyota pick-ups with guns mounted on the back, the rebels use them too.

The enabling resolution directs that all actions necessary to protect civilians from threat of attack be carried out, there is no restriction to engaging only air assets.

It gets really messy bombing the piss out of ground troop/tank/artillery targets holed up in cities.

So will the "coalition" bomb everything moving on the ground all the way back to Tripoli in support of the rebel's advance?


That sounds like a huge clusterfuck.

And indefinite occupation, as far as i can tell. It's an invitation to mission creep.

However, let's face it, we don't have the boots for a ground sort of operation of any but the most modest size (barring a draft or the like).
:sarcasm:

"Occupation force? What occupation force? These are soldiers protectng civilians from threat, they've been doing it for years...."

I don't believe there is a single thing "unexpected" about this war.

Everything the US does is deliberate.

so now BP, Shell, Chevron-Texaco, Exxon-Mobil and Elf Aquitaine can loot the oil.

Follow the money!

Libya resolution? I don't think so. Remember, the resolution was drafted by Lebanon. What oil companies are headquartered in Lebanon? The answer is none.

sponsors of the resolution. How much will it cost to buy a country whose GDP is less than the annual revenues of any of the oil companies mentioned?

"probably" jumped over the moon last night but that won't make it so.

works as a tool for the major powers. Nelson Mandela complained about this a few years ago. There are always countries on UNSC willing to carry bags in exchange for portage.

Moammar K was very wise when he was shopping in the Great Soviet Arms Mercantile and he bought a LOT of very high-performance air defense systems. Libya has SA-2 (the system that shot down Gary Powers' U-2), SA-3 (the system the Yugoslav National Army used to take out an F-117 stealth fighter) and SA-5 (a system that's better than either the SA-2 or SA-3) missile systems. And they've got a LOT of each, all arrayed along the Libyan coast. If we haven't taken them all out yet, we're potentially very screwed.

I can guarantee you, all of gaddafi's "air defense assets" have been "painted" by special forces.

We wouldn't start and air campaign, in this day in age, without first sending in SF to paint offensive sites.

Any missile or anti-aircraft sites have been tagged.

With the proper use of large reconnaissance drones like Global Hawk, satellite imagery and just plain standing on the fantail of a Navy ship with a good pair of binoculars, we know where all the Libyan strategic SAM sites are. There is no camouflage good enough to defeat a determined observer. Anyway, we can find MK's hardware and plot it on maps. After that, GPS-guided missiles like Tomahawks are capable of turning them into smoking ruins.

What I'm wondering is, has this been completed? Just a few stray launchers are enough to ruin the Coalition's whole day.

no one does