Word: gaddafis
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...once again the radars at the SA-5 missile sites at Surt and Benghazi. Then, attack planes would wing in low and fast to knock out the missiles and their launchers. Once they had been destroyed, the third wave would hit adjacent airfields, destroying the runways so that Gaddafi's 550 combat aircraft could not scramble to counterattack the fleet. Supposedly, all that would take little more than an hour, at the end of which Libya would be crippled militarily at the price of a handful of U.S. casualties...
...Benghazi would most closely fit the punishment for terrorism to the crime of inciting and supporting it. But the camps are thought to be empty right now, and when occupied they are also heavily used to train young recruits for the Libyan army, who bear no responsibility for Gaddafi's terrorism. Bombing oil jetties and other installations could cripple Libya's economy, but at the possible price of killing German, Italian and other foreign technicians still working in the Libyan petroleum industry--and possibly even some Americans. There were 1,500 in Libya in January, and some may have disobeyed...
After the President's news conference, a news blackout came down. White House Spokesman Larry Speakes opened a press briefing the next morning by announcing that he would answer no questions about Gaddafi or Libya. With or without any real information, however, enough people were speculating about the details of the operation to cause the Administration to feel that it was becoming impossible to maintain tactical surprise. It also became extremely difficult to keep open the option of making no major response to the most recent terror attack. "There's no question we created a bit of a Frankenstein...
There were signs that the prospect of a U.S. military attack, combined with Gaddafi's vengeful bluster, was galvanizing European allies into talking about taking further steps. At a press conference in Tripoli, Gaddafi vowed to answer any U.S. strike by fomenting terrorist attacks in all the cities of southern Europe. An alarmed Italian Prime Minister Craxi phoned his Spanish counterpart, Felipe Gonzalez, to suggest that a meeting of foreign ministers of the twelve European Community nations be held right away. The meeting was scheduled first for Wednesday, then for Monday. Its apparent purpose: to draft some European-wide program...
...targets to select, if they again decide to strike. Israeli officials late last week claimed that State Department Under Secretary Michael Armacost had told them the U.S. has identified more than 30 potential Libyan targets, ranging from airfields to oil depots; Washington reports add such intriguing items as Gaddafi's personal living quarters. Under one scenario, attack planes launched from the Sixth Fleet carriers could be joined by F-111s from Britain (the British reportedly have given their consent) and even by B-52 bombers flying from bases...