done the no-fly zone in february or early march and trained the rebels in march and i wrote a piece calling for that. we could have moved nato more aggressively and the story, here, really is not that we got qaddafi but how long did to take, and why. trace: former away to nato, sir, good of you. thank you. under president obama s watch the united states has killed or helped kill some of the most dangerous men but will the state of the economy overhad dough the commander in chief s military achievement? the political impact of muammar qaddafi s death is next. that s good morning, veggie style. hmmm [ male announcer ] for half the calories plus veggie nutrition. could ve had a v8.
as of september 30 and the number of u.s. strike ordinances were 397. u.s. aircraft supporting this mission? that was 70 aircraft. vice president biden praised the president s approach of letting nato take the lead. not got it right. nato got it right. reporter: what he failed to mention the u.s. paid 80 percent of nato s operating costs so they paid for most of the operation although it was the french and the british today who announced before u.s. officials confirmed qaddafi was dead. trace: thank you from the pentagon. the death of muammar qaddafi marks the end of a regime that spent the oil wealth on everything from mansions to private concerts by stars like beyonce and carey and the celebrities said they regretted performing for the qaddafis. one of his sons once reportedly
guest: right, that is important to recognize nato did, indeed, play a role. we provided the airstrike and provided the air cover that allows the rebels to do the job but we need to get a couple things right. the u.s. played an initial major role in the first week of attack and pulled become and president obama said we will hand off to nato. we were in a period of stagnation, and only when the uaw and u.k. and france and the u.s. began that phase of actually changing the situation on the ground when the operation started to turn a corner. and the rebels on the ground advancing, city to city, that took control of libya and nato coordinated airstrikes and air cover with those ground operations. that towns it. traits trace: you saying it could have been faster? guest: yes, we could have
trace: americans who lost family members in pam an 103 bombing speaking out about reports that muammar qaddafi is dead. keep in mine the agents carried out that deadly strike and qaddafi himself later acknowledged responsibility. i never in the i would live to see the caylee is eliminated. i praise the obama administration on the new way to deal with state sponsored trim. today is a great day. 24 years later i can say it is the last chapter for me, personally, and it does mean that my brother and 269 others did not die in vain. trace: that was early today on newsroom, his 36-year-old brother was on the jet during the attack that killed all 269 people on board and 11 more on the ground. as an official told fox news, we have to be careful that what comes in ex-is not worse than qaddafi and the challenge, now;
a critic of the policy, broadly speaking, did say, in his full comments that he thinks in the end the president s policy worked, but he thinks he should have arrived at the decision sooner, moved it along to maybe prevent more civilian deaths on the ground in libya and to make sure with a more forceful u.s. directly role, make sure you secure stockpile of weapons that qaddafi had that is a big open question. trace: the chief white house correspondent on the north lawn. many who criticize president obama for leading from behind in libya are now praising the death of muammar qaddafi. of course the killing follows u.s. attacks that have killed osama bin laden and the radical clerk al-awlaki but political experts say the president s military successes may not necessarily lead to votes in the next presidential election because americans are more concerned with the economy. with us is the assistant managing editor of the wall