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WASHINGTON – The U.S. on Sun claimed initial success two 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 said Sun it was too early to define the planetary expeditionary campaign's endgame.

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

A second wave of attacks, mainly from dweller fighters and bombers, targeted African connector forces and expose defenses, following an inaugural barrage Sat of sea-launched Tomahawk voyage missiles.

At the Pentagon, Navy Vice Adm. William E. Gortney, embody administrator for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a programme word that the back-to-back assaults Sat and Sun had inflicted onerous damage. They mostly silenced Gadhafi's expose defenses, blunted his army's intend on the rebel defence of Benghazi and potty his forces.

"We determine these strikes to hit been rattling trenchant in significantly dishonourable the regime's expose defense capability," Gortney said. "We conceive his forces are low momentous stress and suffering from both isolation and a beatific care of confusion."

Gortney's assessment advisable that boost strikes on the bit of Saturday's onerous attack with sea-launched Tomahawk voyage missiles may not be needed, although he did not conception discover boost attacks.

Gortney said Gadhafi himself is not a target, but he could not indorse the strongman's safety.

The systems targeted most intimately were Libya's SA-5 surface-to-air missiles, Russian-made instrumentality that could pose a danger to united bomb many miles soured the African coastline. Libya has a arrange of another expose defense weaponry, including portable surface-to-air missiles that are more arduous to eliminate by bombing.

Sunday's attacks, carried discover by a arrange of U.S. bomb — including Air Force B-2 stealth bombers as substantially as Marine Harrier jets expose from an semiaquatic attack ship in the Mediterranean — demonstrated the predominance of U.S. firepower in the planetary coalition. By striking African 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 understandably in the advance Sat and Sunday, but U.S. officials feature the organisation relic for the U.S. to travel backwards once the danger from the African expeditionary is reduced.

President Barack Obama, motion in Brazil, held a word call Sun with crowning domestic security officials, including Secretary of State mountaineer Rodham Clinton, Defense Secretary parliamentarian Gates and Army Gen. Carter Ham, the U.S. general running the expose crusade on what U.S. officials hit advisable is a temporary foundation until another united noesis crapper verify over.

Gates had planned to fly to land on Sat but delayed his feat for a period so he could be in Washington to monitor the operation's launch.

Vice President Joe Biden discussed the expeditionary action by sound Sun with the maturity rector of Algerie and the ruler of Kuwait, the White House said.

Obama referred to Libya but did not handle the unfolding activeness during remarks in Brazil.

"We've seen the grouping of Libya verify a courageous defence against a program observed to animalise its possess citizens," Obama said.

"No digit crapper feature for destined how this modify module end, but I do know that modify is not something that we should fear. When teen grouping insist that the currents of history are on the move, the burdens of the past crapper be washed away."

Adm. Mike Mullen, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was pressed repeatedly during a ammo of Sun broadcasting interviews to vindicate the mission's objectives. He said the essential content is to protect civilians from boost violence by pro-Gadhafi forces, while sanctioning the flow of helper comfort supplies. He said the prototypal travel — dignified a no-fly regularize — had been achieved, with little vexation of Gadhafi actuation downbound united patrols. But it was blurred how daylong the expeditionary effort would go on, or on what scale.

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

"We're rattling focused 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 kind of helper massacre, if you will, and to wage for the helper corridors, helper hold of the African people," Mullen added.

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

The prospect of Gadhafi remaining in curb of at small a portion of the land raises questions most how farther the Obama brass and its dweller and another partners are willing to go with expeditionary force. Clinton said Sat that although ousting 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 close to Gadhafi strength invoke against him.

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

If the eventual outcome of the expeditionary crusade is cloudy, so is the bidding arrangement. The Pentagon said Sat that it is led by Ham, who as nous of U.S. African Command is responsible for U.S. expeditionary operations in Libya and such of the rest of the continent. Officials hit not said such most the organisation to hand soured responsibility for the expeditionary activeness — dubbed epos Dawn — to whatever another some land or coalition.

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

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

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

"We rattling hit not discovered who it is in Libya that we are disagreeable to support," the Indiana Republican said on CBS' "Face the Nation." "Obviously the grouping that are against Gadhafi, but who? In eastern Libya, for example, a huge number of grouping went soured to support the Iraqis against the United States in a struggle that ease is rotation 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 unwooded of some danger there is feat to be a handoff to our allies and this assignment module then be carried on by French, by British and by Arab countries, and that's rattling important," Levin said.

NATO is seen as mayhap taking the bidding responsibility, but thus farther it has not agreed.

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

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