#News: US Africa Command Revelation On Libyan War: US Forces Flying Hundreds Of Strike Sorties Over Libya

Saturday, July 2, 2011

US Africa Command Revelation On Libyan War: US Forces Flying Hundreds Of Strike Sorties Over Libya

US Africa Command Revelation On Libyan War: US Forces Flying Hundreds Of Strike Sorties Over Libya http://fb.me/18SyvFT6Z

AFRICOM: AF, Navy still flying Libya missions
By Dave Majumdar - Staff writer Posted : Thursday Jun 30, 2011 12:33:04 EDT

Air Force and Navy aircraft are still flying hundreds of strike missions over Libya despite the Obama administration’s claim that American forces are playing only a limited support role in the NATO operation.An Africa Command (AFRICOM) spokeswoman confirmed Wednesday that since NATO’s Operation Unified Protector (OUP) took over from the American-led Operation Odyssey Dawn on March 31, the U.S. military has flown hundreds of strike sorties. Previously, Washington had claimed that it was mostly providing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) and tanker support to NATO forces operating over Libya. “U.S. aircraft continue to fly support [ISR and refueling] missions, as well as strike sorties under NATO tasking,” AFRICOM spokeswoman Nicole Dalrymple said in an emailed statement. “As of today, and since 31 March, the U.S. has flown a total of 3,475 sorties in support of OUP. Of those, 801 were strike sorties, 132 of which actually dropped ordnance.” A White House report on Libya sent to Congress on June 15 says that “American strikes are limited to the suppression of enemy air defense and occasional strikes by unmanned Predator UAVs against a specific set of targets.” The report also says the U.S. provides an “alert strike package.”