Operation Odyssey Dawn: U.S. Jet Crashes As Rebels Struggle To Defend Eastern Cities (PHOTOS)

French officials say the international military effort in Libya known as Operation Odyssey Dawn is expected to last "awhile" following embattled leader Muammar Gaddafi's promise of a "long war."

As the AFP is reporting, Britain's armed forces says Gaddafi is "absolutely not" a target for military action at present. Rebel groups are now reportedly saying they want to drive Gaddafi from power and see him tried, not to have him killed.

On Tuesday, a U.S. military jet crashed to the ground, although both crewmen were rescued. Gaddafi forces continue shelling rebels as they attempted to protect the key Eastern city of Ajdabiya.

Check the latest news on Libya here.

View dramatic photos of Libya here:

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The guided missile destroyer USS Barry (DDG 52) fires Tomahawk cruise missiles in support of Operation Odyssey Dawn from the Mediterranean Sea, as seen through night-vision lenses aboard amphibious transport dock USS Ponce (LPD 15).

The guided missile destroyer USS Barry (DDG 52) fires Tomahawk cruise missiles in support of Operation Odyssey Dawn from the Mediterranean Sea, as seen through night-vision lenses aboard amphibious transport dock USS Ponce (LPD 15).

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Comments

[Hubert van Dijk]

10:46 PM on 03/24/2011

Who comes up with these romantic names like Odyssey Dawn for murder and mayhem?
To much Hollywood in peoples brains!

[msbeal]

05:14 AM on 03/25/2011

One comedian said Odyssey Dawn sounds more like a cruise ship than a combat theater.

[RRK70]

10:29 AM on 03/25/2011

really?  I was going to say something to the contrary.  The operations that seem to be void of political/propagandist terminology seem to be the one's being originated and planned by serious military planners rather than being political policy driven ventures.  When the operation name has propagandist themes you just know it's being marketed to the public.   Odyssey Dawn sounds better to me than "Operation Enduring Freedom" or "Operation Love My Country", etc.

[ShadowLurker]

07:35 AM on 03/23/2011

It's within your reach, Libya. Don't stop until you've got total victory. Your freedom and future is at stake.

[george389]

08:08 AM on 03/23/2011

I don't think Libya reads the Huffpost. But i'll alert the presses

[Randolph Greer]

01:26 AM on 03/23/2011

If our Republican Fascist Governors called out the National Guard to shoot at demonstrators would anyone be surprised ? And if they did , how many Americans would fight for their freedoms and liberties with knives and pistols against the military ? And would any National Guardsman refuse to shoot at the people ? And would any officer defect to the side of the demonstrators here in Ohio , Michigan, Florida, Pennsylvania , Indiana , Maine , New Jersey, or Wisconsin ? And just how much damage will they be able to do to our middle class and the poor before these things begin to occur? And does anyone really believe that these men will leave office before their terms are up regardless of whether or not they are recalled ? These men believe elections have consequences and they have not finished doing what they were paid to do to this country . These are the questions I am asking as we go into this season of discontent in America . I just pray that those who are looking at Libya are putting themselves in the place of those people and asking themselves this big question . Do I love my country and my freedom enough to die for it or would I rather live as a slave in my own land doing what the Koch's told me I had to do for them ?

[RRK70]

10:35 AM on 03/25/2011

things are not bad enough here, though they are headed that direction.  First of all I think politicians have learned a lot from Vietnam and events like Kent State.  The battles are fought in the media these days, and those who control the media control the debate.  Until people can longer ignore the issues because the reality on the street is in stark contrast to what they are being told by the MSM, nothing will happen.

[cadawa]

08:40 PM on 03/22/2011

"Operation Oddyssey Dawn" Who thinks up these names, the bra designer from Victoria's Secret?

[Nebbers]

03:11 AM on 03/23/2011

I think "Operation Odyssey Dawn" is a line of safari clothing by J. Peterman.

[SGTDBK]

01:33 PM on 03/24/2011

Actually the DOD thinks of the operation names...they go alphabetically this operation had to begin with an O...the second word had a choice between 10 letters I believe...the actual words have strict guidelines too...they can't be derogatory, name brand, etc etc...

So actually alot of thought and prep work went into just the two words of this campaign. But its ok make jokes about stuff you don't understand.

[cadawa]

04:24 PM on 03/24/2011

You call that thought? Robots 'think' that way.
I understand cheezy names for gratuitous violence just fine, thank you.

[RRK70]

10:45 AM on 03/25/2011

I don't think it's  entirely randomly chosen in alphabetic order as you suggest.  It's not like hurricanes are named.  They do have a system, but the Pentagon often veers from that system, so it really isn't a system when you don't adhere to it all the time, is it?

The two-letter system isn’t the exclusive way to pick an operation and exercise names. For larger operations, like the first Gulf War’s operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield, commanders have picked names that sound good to them or influence public opinion — something Sieminski dates to the renaming the invasion of Panama to “Just Cause” from “Blue Spoon.” 
Some lesser operations, like a 2004 roundup of insurgents in Kirkuk called “Operation Slim Shady,” also don’t seem like they would have passed through the Defense Department’s official guidelines.

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/03/whats-in-a-name-odyssey-dawn-is-pentagon-crafted-nonsense/

personally I'm quite relieved that there's not PR twist to the operation's name like "Operation Libya Liberation"  or "Operation Rescue Kitten", it's a small sign that perhaps the politicians are leaving this operation to the military to run (and while I'm not a big fan of military interventions I do think they are usually more effective when left to generals rather than politicians)

[baba2nde]

07:16 PM on 03/22/2011

Dramatic photos, indeed. Look, mama, no blood!

[KIVPossum]

09:07 PM on 03/22/2011

Americans don't do well with blood. They only enjoy the explosions

[ShadowLurker]

07:36 AM on 03/23/2011

If the photos did have blood, you'd complain about explicit photos.

[jezebelial]

07:13 PM on 03/22/2011

Who thinks up the silly names for all these wars, anyway? Is that a major in college somewhere?

[AnnArky]

07:08 PM on 03/22/2011

Pity the poor Rebels. Caught between Kadhafi - who would kill them for wanting to be free - and their so-called liberators - who will, eventually, kill them for wanting to be free.

[moose and squirrel]

03:04 AM on 03/23/2011

dang-- someone actually more cynical than me!

[ShadowLurker]

07:37 AM on 03/23/2011

Wow. Your myopic statements highlight your total inability to grasp reality.

[iflew]

06:57 PM on 03/22/2011

The pilots were first hugged by the Libyans on the ground and some of the Libyans were then fired on by rescuers in the evac chopper.

Marines get in a lot of deep doo doo! Some have been in too much already. They shouldn't have shot at civilians, but no one should say unless they were there.

Regretable, hell yes!. US has made enemies out of the folks we went to help. Viet Nam, and our current messes are good examples.

Tired and worn out young men with guns are not good an Making Friends and Influencing People.

[smilingasa]

07:16 PM on 03/22/2011

I just saw the people on TV who rescued the pilot and they said they understand that the US was trying to protect the pilot and didn't know who they were, they went on to say that they thank the US and others who were helping them from Gadhafi.

[ShadowLurker]

07:38 AM on 03/23/2011

You're ruining the narrative on the site...

But I'm faving you with respect.

[lqw]

06:37 PM on 03/22/2011

The war in Afghanistan is called "Operation Enduring Freedom"

[RRK70]

10:47 AM on 03/25/2011

well "Enduring" is sure true, not so sure about the rest.  I guess one out of two ain't bad!

[lqw]

06:32 PM on 03/22/2011

The Iraq war is now called "Operation New Dawn"
The war in Libya is called "Operation Odyssey Dawn"

[Skunkman]

06:23 PM on 03/22/2011

Libyan Operation To Be Renamed as ’2011: A Space Odyssey’


AS WITH THE MOVIE OF THE SIMILAR NAME, NOBODY REALLY UNDERSTANDS WHAT THIS MEANS EITHER, AND SOME PEOPLE ALSO QUESTION WHETHER IT’S BEING DRIVEN BY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. LOL

Mike

[hedah]

06:13 PM on 03/22/2011

I wonder WHO names all these "modern" wars ?! (death has become daily 'fact of life' ironically !!!)

[Dragunover]

05:36 PM on 03/22/2011

Fullscreen is bugged out for me, I can't see any of them, over half the page is blacked out