DTN News - BATTLE FOR LIBYA: Obama OKs Predator Strikes in Libya Confirmed By Defense Secretary Gates....NSI News Source Info # 1847WASHINGTON, April 21, 2011: President Barack Obama has approved the use of armed predator strikes in the international fight against Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi's regime, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today.
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"The president has said that where we have some unique capabilities, he is willing to use those," Gates said. "In fact, he has approved the use of armed predators [in Libya]."
Armed predators have been used in Libya "purely as [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems] until today," Cartwright said.
Two unmanned armed predators capable of around-the-clock coverage are now in Libya, the general added. The first flights launched today but were cancelled because of bad weather.
The character of the fight in Libya has changed, Cartwright said. Gadhafi loyalists, he said, are digging in or "nestling up against crowded areas" to avoid being targeted by NATO aircraft.
The more-precise predators bring "their ability to get down lower and therefore, to be able to get better visibility, particularly on targets that have started to dig themselves into defensive positions," Cartwright said.
The aircraft are uniquely suited for urban areas where more traditional bombing can cause collateral damage, he added.
"This is a very limited capability," Gates said, adding that the president has been clear from the outset that the U.S. role would be specifically defined.
Obama structured the U.S. role in Libya as a limited one because "of all our friends and allies, we are the most-stretched military," Gates added.
http://defense-technologynews.blogspot.com/2011/04/dtn-news-battle-for-libya-obama-oks.html
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