Word: libya
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...bombing attack against Libya is the most dramatic example to date of an important theme in the foreign policy of the Reagan Administration: a determination to use American military power against enemies anywhere in the world, regardless of whether the U.S. has the support of its allies. Being a superpower often means not having to say either please or sorry...
Actually, the schedule of Operation El Dorado Canyon, as the strikes were code-named by Pentagon planners, was dictated by the military necessity of hitting Libya in the middle of the night. It was just one factor in an enormously complex operation that involved 150 aircraft and resulted in the launching of more than 60 tons of bombs. The outcome was far from perfect: the U.S. lost one F-111 fighter-bomber along with its two-man crew and unintentionally caused some civilian casualties and damage. But El Dorado also produced more than a few nuggets of military gold, including...
Plans for a strike of some sort against Libya began late in March when U.S. intelligence learned of Libyan intentions to conduct future terrorist acts like the West Berlin disco bombing on April 4. At a National Security Council meeting on April 7, the President clearly decided that the time for action had arrived. His command: "Try to make the world smaller for the terrorists...
Next on the hit list was the military section of the Tripoli International Airport, base of Libya's fleet of nine Il-76s, which have been used in terrorist operations for supply and transport. A third target was the Benghazi army barracks, which Gaddafi uses as an alternative command post. Then came barracks at the naval port of Sidi Bilal, near Tripoli, a commando training facility. Finally, security officials recommended a strike at the Benina airfield, where Libya's MiG-23 interceptors are based, as a precaution against counterattack...
Meanwhile, the carriers Coral Sea and America, stationed in the midMediterranean, were steaming toward the coast of Libya. Between 5:20 and 6:20 p.m., close to 100 aircraft catapulted off their decks--18 A-6 and A-7 strike and strike-support craft, six F/A-18 fighters, 14 EA-6B electronic jamming planes and a variety of support craft. As the Air Force's F-111 squadron rounded the tip of Tunisia, it was skillfully integrated into the Navy's airborne armada by a single Air Force officer providing coordination from an airborne tanker...