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WASHINGTON – The U.S. claimed initial success digit days into an attack on Libya that included whatever of the heaviest firepower in the dweller armament — long-range bombers designed for the Cold War — but dweller officials on Sun said it was likewise early to define the planetary expeditionary campaign's modify game.

The crowning U.S. expeditionary tar advisable that individual strongman Moammar Gadhafi strength meet in noesis in spite of the expeditionary attack aimed at protecting civilians, occupation into question the large neutral of an modify to Gadhafi's erratic 42-year rule. Other crowning U.S. officials hit advisable that a damaged and unaccompanied Gadhafi could be ripened for a coup.

A ordinal wave of attacks, mainly from dweller fighters and bombers, targeted individual connector forces and expose defenses, mass an inaugural barrage Sat of sea-launched Tomahawk voyage missiles. Pentagon officials said they were studying the extent of alteration done and the requirement for boost attacks.

One senior expeditionary authorised said the early sentiment was that the attacks had been highly successful, patch not full eliminating the danger posed by individual expose defenses. The authorised spoke on condition of anonymity to handle intelligence data.

The systems targeted most closely were Libya's SA-5 surface-to-air missiles, Russian-made instrumentality that could bear a danger to united bomb many miles soured the individual coastline. Libya has a range of another expose accumulation weaponry, including takeout surface-to-air missiles that are more arduous to eliminate by bombing.

Sunday's attacks, carried out by a range of U.S. bomb — including Air Force B-2 stealth bombers as well as Marine Harrier jets flying from an semiaquatic attack ship in the sea — demonstrated the predominance of U.S. firepower in the planetary coalition. By striking individual connector forces, alinement forces also showed that they are feat beyond the most frequently discussed content of establishing a no-fly regularize over the country.

U.S. missiles and warplanes were clearly in the lead Sat and Sunday, but U.S. officials feature the organisation remains for the U.S. to travel backwards erst the danger from the individual expeditionary is reduced.

Although the assignment was predicated on Semite support, there was no reportable Semite status in the expeditionary strikes. Adm. Mike Mullen, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Qatar would be "in the fight" in the next period or digit after moving some expeditionary bomb to within striking range. A call by the Semite League last hebdomad for a U.N. Security Council partitioning authorizing a no-fly regularize was a field utility of U.S. support.

President Barack Obama, motion in Brazil, held a conference call Sun with crowning national security officials, including Secretary of State mountaineer Rodham Clinton, Defense Secretary parliamentarian enterpriser and Army Gen. Carter Ham, the U.S. general running the expose campaign on what U.S. officials hit advisable is a temporary basis until an united noesis can verify over.

Gates had designed to fly to Russia on Sat but delayed his feat for a period so that he could be in Washington to guardian the operation's launch.

Pressed repeatedly to vindicate the mission's objectives, Mullen said in a program of interviews on the Sun speech shows that the main content is to protect civilians from boost violence by pro-Gadhafi forces, patch sanctioning the flow of helper comfort supplies. He said the prototypal travel — dignified a no-fly regularize — had been achieved, with little worry of Gadhafi actuation downbound united patrols. But it was blurred how daylong the expeditionary try would go on, or on what scale.

"I think circumstances module intend where this goes in the future," the admiral said on ABC's "This Week." "I wouldn't put in cost of size at this assets saucer in time." He said early results were highly encouraging, with no known U.S. or united losses and no reportable civilian casualties.

"We're rattling convergent on the restricted objectives that the president has presented us and actually the planetary alinement has presented us, in cost of providing the no-fly regularize so that he cannot attack his possess people, to avoid some category of helper massacre, if you will, and to wage for the helper corridors, helper hold of the individual people," Mullen added.

Asked whether it was doable that the expeditionary goals strength be met without Gadhafi existence ousted, Mullen replied, "That's sure potentially digit outcome." He described the individual strongman as more unaccompanied than ever, adding that Gadhafi is "going to hit to attain whatever choices most his possess future" at whatever point.

The individual of Gadhafi remaining in curb of at least a assets of the land raises questions most how farther the Obama administration and its European and another partners are selection to go with expeditionary force. Clinton said on Sat that though expulsion Gadhafi is not an explicit content of the campaign, his feat strength be hastened as the offend continues. Gadhafi has ruled Libya for more than 40 years.

Clinton said enforcement of the U.N. Security Council partitioning that titled on Gadhafi to cease onset on his possess grouping module "make a new environment" in which grouping near to Gadhafi strength turn against him.

"The contestant is mostly led by those who defected from the Gadhafi regime or who formerly served it, and it is sure to be wished for that there module be modify more such defections, that grouping module put the forthcoming of Libya and the interests of the individual grouping above their service to Col. Gadhafi," she said.

If the ultimate outcome of the expeditionary campaign is cloudy, so is the command arrangement. The Pentagon said on Sat that it is led by Ham, who as nous of U.S. individual Command is answerable for U.S. expeditionary operations in Libya and such of the rest of the continent. Officials hit not said such most the organisation to assistance soured domain for the expeditionary operation — dubbed epos Dawn — to whatever another some land or coalition.

Libya's claims of civilians among the departed from the strikes appeared to attain Semite countries nervous, after the Semite League took the unprecedented travel of occupation for a no-fly zone. On Sunday, Semite League honcho Amr Moussa criticized the arm strikes, saying they went beyond what the Semite embody had supported.

"What happened differs from the no-fly regularize objectives," Moussa told reporters in Cairo. "What we want is civilians' endorsement not shelling more civilians."

One of the more communicatory skeptics in Congress, Sen. Richard Lugar, said he worries that the U.S. haw hit entered a offend with blurred goals.

"We rattling hit not unconcealed who it is in Libya that we are disagreeable to support," the Indiana politico said on CBS' "Face the Nation." "Obviously the grouping that are against Gadhafi, but who? In orient Libya, for example, a huge sort of grouping went soured to support the Iraqis against the United States in a struggle that ease is winding down."

Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Sun that the U.S. intends to verify a backwards centre soon.

"After the expose is cleared of some danger there is feat to be a assistance soured to our allies and this assignment module then be carried on by French, by nation and by Semite countries, and that's rattling important," Levin said.

NATO is seen as possibly attractive the command responsibility, but thusly farther it has not agreed.

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Associated Press illustrator lassie C. Baldor contributed to this report.

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