It's bombs away as British forces battle in Libya!

The US and European nations have targeted Muammar Gaddafi's forces with airstrikes and dozens of cruise missiles in an allied assault aimed at enforcing a no-fly zone. 

British forces are in action over Libya as part of international efforts to prevent Gaddafi from attacking his own people, Prime Minister David Cameron said yesterday:

"Tonight, British forces are in action over Libya," he confirmed.

"We have all seen the appalling brutality that Colonel Gaddafi has meted out against his own people. And far from introducing the cease-fire he spoke about, he has actually stepped up the attacks." Cameron told press and public.

The British public should now more than ever be aware that there are "dangers and uncertainties" ahead as the country takes a lead role in efforts to protect civilians from the Libyan regime. The comments come as reports emerge of the initial reaction to sustained attacks by French, American and British forces last night.

State television said 48 people had died in the strikes launched to uphold the UN-mandated no-fly zone in support of rebels who have seen early gains reversed by the regime's superior air power and weaponry. After a rolling start, with French aircraft firing the first shots, this operation to enforce UN Security Council Resolution 1973 is unfolding in a familiar way.

The initial aim was to degrade and destroy Libya's integrated air defence system, largely centred in the western part of the country around Tripoli. Land attack cruise missiles were fired from US warships and submarines out in the Mediterranean. A British Trafalgar class submarine was involved as well. 

Air forces flew from the round trip from their base in Britain to launch Storm Shadow missiles against Libyan air defences. US B-2 Stealth Bombers were also employed, dropping some 40 bombs on a Libyan airfield.

All this has put the conditions in place for the establishment of the no-fly zone. But now Cobra (Cabinet Office Briefing Room A) meets to plot the next move.

Government ministers will spend today assessing the military impact of the coalition's air and cruise missile strikes against Libya's air defence systems.

David Cameron is expected to chair a meeting of Cobra at which military chiefs will tell him and other Cabinet ministers how successful the first wave of strikes has been. Mr Cameron has the unanimous backing of the Cabinet for the military action. While there is a small but vocal group of MPs that oppose military action, but the vast majority support Mr Cameron's stance.

If the Libyan dictator continues his belligerence, and fails to withdraw his troops from towns and cities where they are attacking civilians, military action is likely to be stepped up.

I beg the question, should we really be enforcing a no-fly zone on this Country?

Lessons from the past show that no-fly zones can last years - as we saw in Iraq after the first Gulf War - and that they do not necessarily lead to the quick removal of a dictator. They can also cause unintended civilian casualties and unrest as we saw in the no-fly zone over Serbia before the removal of Slobodan Milosevic.

The Gaddafi regime has already unleashed its propaganda war by claiming that the coalition's military action has already killed 48 people and injured 150 or more.

And the longer the military action continues, the greater will be the pressure on Coalition cohesion.

-ZB