NATOs military staff has begun drawing up plans today to take over control of the No Fly Zone. Their planning window for this operation is currently 90 days. However, the NATO commander has the authority to extend that window if he deems it necessary. The US role is said to be that of planning attacks on ground troops and other targets.
The United States, embroiled in Iraq and Afghanistan, is keen to step back and play a supporting role in Libya in order to preserve alliance unity and maintain the support of Muslim countries for the U.N.-mandated intervention. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the United Arab Emirates would deploy 12 planes for the coalition effort. Clinton thanked the U.A.E. for becoming the second Arab country after Qatar to send planes.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/...
Under an agreement reached Thursday, NATO forces will be able to close Libyan air space to all flights except humanitarian ones and will be able to use force in self-defense.
At present, the mandate is not being interpreted as a license to attack Libyan government troops who may be threatening unarmed civilians. But that could change.
NATO also has sent a directive to its military chain of command asking for a plan on how to execute an expanded role for enforcement of U.N. Resolution 1973, according to NATO sources.
http://www.cnn.com/...
Egypt's military has begun shipping arms over the border to Libyan rebels with Washington's knowledge, U.S. and Libyan rebel officials said.
The shipments—mostly small arms such as assault rifles and ammunition—appear to be the first confirmed case of an outside government arming the rebel fighters. Those fighters have been losing ground for days in the face of a steady westward advance by forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.
The Egyptian shipments are the strongest indication to date that some Arab countries are heeding Western calls to take a lead in efforts to intervene on behalf of pro-democracy rebels in their fight against Mr. Gadhafi in Libya. Washington and other Western countries have long voiced frustration with Arab states' unwillingness to help resolve crises in their own region, even as they criticized Western powers for attempting to do so.
http://online.wsj.com/...
This diary is for those who might have an interest in Libya. Personally, I'm curious to see what our total mission will entail. It looks like the US will be responsible for planning ground attacks on Libyan troops and other targets.
Update
Bouchard, a native of Chicoutimi, Que., has been designated by NATO as head of the alliance’s campaign in Libya. He will work with “his naval and air component commands” to enforce the no-fly zone and the so-called civilian-protection mission in Libya, a senior White House official said Friday.
Coalition warplanes struck Gadhafi’s forces outside the strategic city of Ajdabiya, the gateway to the rebel-held east, hitting an artillery battery and armoured vehicles.
The strikes were intended to give a measure of relief to the city, whose residents have fled or cowered under more than a week of shelling and fighting between rebels and government troops. Explosions also sounded in Tripoli, the Libyan capital, before daybreak Friday, apparently from airstrikes.
Ajdabiya has been under siege for more than a week, with the rebels holding the city centre and scattered checkpoints but facing relentless shelling from government troops on the outskirts. Residents are without electricity or drinking water, and many have fled.
http://www.mygripeanthing.com/...
As Richard Lyon mentions in the comments, it doesn't look like Bouchard will have control over ground forces.
http://www.dailykos.com/...