Air dominance is achieved, but confusion of goals deepens

• The coalition’s joint task force commander U.S. Admiral Samuel Locklear confirmed on Tuesday there had been “tactical air strikes in coastal areas throughout Libya” without specifying locations. He repeated that there had been no communication with the opposition and said he was “confident the Gaddafi air force will not have a negative impact on the coalition.”

On the political front

• U.S. defense secretary Robert Gates said on Tuesday that coalition forces were “going to great lengths to avoid civilian casualties.”
• Russia, which abstained in last week’s UN Security Council vote on the resolution authorizing force in Libya, has since criticized the air strikes.
• China has also urged all parties to “immediately cease fire and resolve issues through peaceful means.”
• On Monday President Barack Obama said the United States would soon cede control of operations in Libya — “in a matter of days and not in a matter of weeks.”
• Gates has said the mission could come under French-British or NATO control.
• Divisions have emerged within NATO over taking command, with France and Turkey in particular offering objections. France has indicated Arab countries would not want NATO to lead and that the organization should support U.S., French, and British political control.
• Turkey wants limits on NATO involvement and says the air strikes have already gone beyond the UN resolution.
• Italy said it could withdraw its bases without a coordinated NATO structure and Norway said its jets would not take part in the action as long as it was unclear who was in overall command.
• The French on Tuesday suggested a new, overseeing political body to “unite the foreign ministers of the states that are intervening, along with those in the Arab League.”
• NATO did agree on Tuesday to begin enforcing a UN arms embargo on Libya, using aircraft and ships in the Mediterranean to “conduct operations to monitor, report and, if needed, interdict vessels suspected of carrying illegal arms or mercenaries.”
• Also on Tuesday, Algeria called for an “immediate cessation of hostilities and foreign intervention,” saying the latter was “disproportionate” in relation to the UN resolution.
• Meanwhile, United Nations aid agencies say they believe thousands of Libyan citizens are displaced within the country, amid reports of severe shortages of food and medicines, and reprisals by government forces. The agencies are hoping to get a convoy of aid into Libya on Wednesday.