anti-aircraft fire lighting up the skiy ies over libya s capital. the u.s. putting a tight lid on libyan air space to expand a no-fly zone. the latest air patrols were preceded by numerous missile strikes including a hit on moammar gadhafi s personal compound in tripoli. the leaders whereabouts right now unknown. u.s. commanders say coalition forces are generally achieving their words, generally achieving their goals, but a lot of questions remain about the allied mission going forward. let s go straight to our pentagon correspondent chris lawrence. he s got some answers for us. chris, first of all what, do they think? how do they think the u.s. and its coalition partners are doing? well, they think they re progressing, wolf. the real question here is what sounds so simple that to enforce
likely suffered a good deal of damage. and the u.s. and european allies in libya saturday with more than 100 tomorrowa huk cruise missiles. and carried out several strikes in the east. british fighter jets bombarded the nation and the military saying those missles have done pretty a lot of damage to muammar gaddafi s air defense. the goal is to clear the way for air patrols to ground libya s airports so they can enforce a un-mandated no fly zone, president barack obama saying military action was not the first choice and stressing he will not send american ground troops to libya. and according to libyan state tv the strikes killed 48 people and wounded 150 others but those reports can t be independently confirmed. we ve seen the first wave of of the allied military efforts and what do we expect next?
probably get the full rundown of what happened. it sounds like there was a second wave of aircraft that went in. brits went in, maybe others went in with them. maybe french go in again. maybe only arab aircraft went in this the strike in the early morning hours there. we don t know yet. we ll hear that tomorrow but as the air defenses are taken down, the air patrols over libya will become more routine, will have broader allied and coalition member participation, i m sure. and real issue is going to be what happens on the ground? what s going to keep this from being a stalemate if gadhafi freezes in place, do we go after him and attack him or do the rebels try to regain ground or exactly what happens? and if gadhafi moves forward, do we then have the assets to stop that move decisively? exactly, general. i think the term for this is mission creep and the concern
there is some question now about whether a full no-fly zone is being enforced in libya. chairman of joint chiefs, admiral michael mullen, said it s in place but the senior u.s. military commander running operations over libya is a little more guarded in his assessment. general carter hamh tells fox they don t have yet the cape ability to enforce a full no-fly zone abou over the entire condi. it s the size of alaska. they ve launched sea tomahawk missiles and precision guided bombs. american officials are eager to confirm damage from the multi-stage air campaign has been extensive enough to allow air patrols to protect civilians who have been targeted by qaddafi. a troubled reactor is causing problems as japan fights its potential nuclear crisis. peter doocy has a look at that story and other breaking stories. reporter: a pressure spike
tomahawk missiles today, a total of 118 as part of operation odyssey dawn. they re looking to clear the way for air patrols to ground libya s air force. tomahawk missiles are unmanned single use programmable jet engine missiles first deployed during operation desert storm in 1991. they can travel at about 550 miles r hour. secretary of state hillary clinton who has continued to support military intervention in libya once again spoke out in paris about what the u.s. hopes to achieve through its role in the strike force. the international community came together to speak with one voice and to deliver a clear and consistent message. colonel qaddafi s campaign of violence against his own people must stop. now the qaddafi forces face