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FLIPY FLAPS!
American Plane Crashes in Libya
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42206805/ns/world_news-mideastn_africa/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42206805/ns/world_news-mideastn_africa/
TRIPOLI, Libya — A U.S. military jet crashed in Libya after an equipment malfunction but its two crewmembers ejected and are safe, the U.S. military said Tuesday.
Both crew members used parachutes to eject from the F-15E Strike Eagle jet at high altitudes and sustained minor injuries, Vince Crawley, a spokesman for the Africa Command, told The Associated Press.
The airmen were separated because they ending up in different areas, he said, adding that the crash was likely caused by mechanical failure and not hostile fire.
Video: US fighter jet crashes in Libya (on this page) The incident was originally reported by Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper. According to the newspaper, the American pilot was rescued by rebels after ejecting from the aircraft near Benghazi.
The crash occurred at 5:30 p.m. ET on Monday, officials said.
The aircraft, based out of Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England, was flying out of Italy's Aviano Air Base in support of Operation Odyssey Dawn at the time of the incident.
Earlier, anti-aircraft fire rang out across Tripoli for a third night as air attacks were reported in the capital and on targets in eastern Libya.
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But a U.S. general said allied bombing raids were likely to become less frequent as Washington holds back from being sucked into the Libyan civil war.
"My sense is that — that unless something unusual or unexpected happens, we may see a decline in the frequency of attacks," General Carter Ham, who is leading U.S. forces in the Libyan operation, told reporters in Washington.
Ham said it was possible that Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi might manage to retain power.
"I don't think anyone would say that is ideal," the general said Monday, foreseeing a possible outcome that stands in contrast to President Barack Obama's declaration that Gadhafi must go.
The Libyan leader has ruled the North African nation for 42 years and was a target of American air attacks in 1986.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates and others said the U.S. military's role will lessen in coming days as other countries take on more missions and the need declines for large-scale offensive action like the barrage of Tomahawk cruise missiles fired Saturday and Sunday mainly by U.S. ships and submarines off Libya's coast.
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A senior defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss classified data, told The Associated Press on Monday the attacks thus far had reduced Libya's air defense capabilities by more than 50 percent. That has enabled the coalition to focus more on extending the no-fly zone, which is now mainly over the coastal waters off Libya and around the rebel stronghold of Benghazi in the east, across the country to the Tripoli area this week.
Libyan state television said several sites had come under attack in the capital on Monday. Western powers had no confirmation of new strikes in a U.N.-mandated campaign to enforce a no-fly zone and protect civilians from Gadhafi's forces.
Rebels, who had been driven back towards their eastern Benghazi stronghold before the air attacks halted an advance by Gadhafi's forces, have so far done little to capitalize on the campaign — raising fears the war could grind to a stalemate.
Video: With foreign firepower, rebels again on offensive (on this page) But Washington, wary of being drawn into another war after long campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, has ruled out specific action to overthrow Gadhafi, though France said on Monday it hoped the Libyan government would collapse from within.
Obama, facing questions at home about the United States military getting bogged down in a third Muslim country, said Washington would cede control of the Libyan operation in days.
"We anticipate this transition to take place in a matter of days and not in a matter of weeks," Obama told a news conference during a visit to Chile.
Video: Obama: It is US policy that Gadhafi must go Advertise | AdChoices
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He did not spell out which nation or organization would take charge, but Britain and France took a lead role in pushing for the intervention in Libya.
Discord was evident Monday in Europe over whether the military operation should be controlled by NATO. Turkey blocked the alliance's participation, while Italy issued a veiled threat to withdraw the use of its bases unless the alliance was put in charge. Germany also questioned the wisdom of the operation, and Russia's Vladimir Putin railed against the U.N.-backed airstrikes as outside meddling "reminiscent of a medieval call for a crusade."
Libyan state television reported that several sites in Tripoli had been subject to new attacks by what it called the "crusader enemy". "These attacks are not going to scare the Libyan people," said a state television broadcast.
Anti-aircraft gunfire rang out throughout the night and pro-Gadhafi slogans echoed around the city center. Cars sped through Tripoli streets honking wildly.
Al Jazeera television said radar installations at two air defense bases in eastern Libya had been hit. However, a French armed forces spokesman said France, which has been involved in strikes in the east, had no planes in the air at the time.
Jerome Delay / AP Tracers from anti-aircraft guns are seen above the hotel where foreign media and government officials are staying in Tripoli, Libya, on Monday.
Meanwhile, residents in two besieged rebel-held cities in western Libya, Misrata and Zintan, said they had been attacked by Gadhafi's forces. Security analysts have said they believe government troops will try to force their way into civilian areas to escape attack from the air.
In Misrata, residents said people had gone out into the streets to try to stop Gadhafi's forces entering the city.
"When they gathered in the center, the Gadhafi forces started shooting at them with artillery and guns," said the resident, who gave his name as Saadoun. He said nine people were killed.
Vote: Do you support the U.S. involvement in Libya? Zintan, near the Tunisian border, faced heavy shelling, two witnesses said, forcing residents to flee to mountain caves. Several houses were destroyed and a mosque minaret destroyed.
"New forces were sent today to besiege the city. There are now at least 40 tanks at the foothills of the mountains near Zintan," Abdulrahmane Daw told Reuters by phone from the town.
The reports could not be independently verified.
The United States and its allies have run into some criticism for the intensity of the firepower it unleashed on Libya, including more than 110 Tomahawk missiles on Saturday.
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India, which abstained from a U.N. security council vote to authorize military action, followed fellow BRIC countries China and Russia in condemning the air strikes.
"What is happening in a country, within their internal affairs, no external powers should interfere in it," Pranab Mukherjee, India's finance minister and leader of the lower house of parliament, told lawmakers on Tuesday.
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Brazil called late on Monday for a cease-fire in Libya while China once more urged an end to the fighting, expressing "deep concern" at reported civilian casualties.
Arab League chief Amr Moussa, who backed the U.N. resolution supporting military intervention, has questioned the methods used.
Libyan rebels have welcomed the airstrikes and say they are coordinating with the Western powers.
But there was little sign at the vanguard of battle in east Libya that this communication extended to forward rebel units.
Western powers say they are not providing close air support to rebels or seeking to destroy Gadhafi's army, but rather only protecting civilians, as their U.N. mandate allows, leaving disorganized rebel fighters struggling to make headway.
"If we don't get more help from the West, Gadhafi's forces will eat us alive," rebel fighter Nouh Musmari told Reuters.
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Security analysts say it is unclear what will happen if the Libyan leader digs in, especially since Western powers have made clear they would be unwilling to see Libya partitioned between a rebel-held east and Gadhafi-controlled west.
"There is still a real risk of a protracted stalemate, with neither side wanting to negotiate. So the endgame remains very unclear," said Jeremy Binnie, a senior analyst with IHS Jane's.