President Obama authorized limited military action against Libya on Saturday, saying Moammar Gadhafi's continued assault on his own people left the U.S. and its international partners with no other choice.
"This is not an outcome the U.S. or any of our partners sought," Obama said from Brazil, where he is starting a five-day visit to Latin America. "We cannot stand idly by when a tyrant tells his people there will be no mercy."
Navy Vice Adm. William E. Gortney, director of the Pentagon's Joint Staff, told reporters that U.S. and British ships launched more than 100 missiles on Libyan air defenses in an effort to lay down protection for a no-fly zone. The missiles targeted Libya's defense system, including "surface-to-air missiles sites, early warning sites and key communication nodes."
Gortney said they hit more than 20 sites along the Mediterranean coastline, but the success of the mission, dubbed Odyssey Dawn, was not immediately clear.
The head of Libya's parliament, Mohammed Abul-Qassim al-Zwai, called the strikes "barbaric" and insisted Libya had kept its promise of a cease-fire.
"This aggression will not weaken us," he said.
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Gotta wonder what's gonna come of this.