MU.S. Weighs Options, on Air and Sea#100The New York Times3/7/11Thom ShankerVocabulary to Know Before You Readoust strafe humanitarianprominent surveillance flotillafallout rotor infusionmuddle catastrophic ampleamphibious template insurgentsWASH!"#$! % American military planners are sifting through a range of options as the &nited States' li(e other Western nations' weighs the response to the bloody )ibyan military assaults on rebels trying to oust *ol+ ,uammar el-.addafi+Rebel commanders have begged for American stri(es on troops and weapons that have turned on civilians and assaulted strongholds of the resistance+ And on Sunday' three prominent members of the &nited States Senate' from both ma/or political parties' renewed the Senate0s call for consideration of enforcing a1no-flight2 3one to ground the)ibyan air force and prevent it from attac(ing its people+ #hey also pressed the $bama administration for a more aggressive response' including supplying intelligence' arms and training to the rebels+#he defense secretary' Robert ,+ "ates' and top commanders have warned of political fallout if America again attac(s a ,uslim nation' even to support a popular revolt+ So military planners on the 4entagon0s 5oint Staff and in its field commands are offering a broad range of approaches' depending on how events play out in )ibya and how tough the &nited States and its allies want to be+6ven without firing a shot' a relatively passive operation using signal-/amming aircraft in international airspace could muddle )ibyan government communications with military units+ Administration officials said Sunday that preparations for such an operation were under way+#he latest military force to draw within stri(ing distance of the )ibyan capital' #ripoli' is the 78th ,arine 69peditionary &nit aboard two amphibious assault ships' the Kearsarge and the 4once+ #he unit provides a complete air' sea and land force that can pro/ect its power :uic(ly and across hundreds of miles' either from flat-dec(ed ships in the ,editerranean Sea or onto a small beachhead on land+n this tas( force are Harrier /ump-/et warplanes' which not only can bomb' strafe and engage in dogfights' but can also carry surveillance pods for monitoring military action on the ground in )ibya; attac( helicopters; transport aircraft % both cargo helicopters and the fast' long-range $sprey' whose rotors let it lift straight up' then tilt forward li(e propellers to ferry ,arines' doctors' refugees or supplies across the desert % landing craft that can cross the surf anywhere along )ibya0s long coastline; and about st Battalion' 7nd ,arines+!ot that every option would re:uire such firepower+ Helicopters from that same ,arine 69peditionary &nit' for e9ample' were sent to assist after the catastrophic floods in 4a(istan+ 4entagon planners can also loo( at templates from large humanitarian missions carried out after the Haitian earth:ua(e' 4a(istani floods and an ndonesian tsunami' as well as the military operation to protect and feed residents of ra:i Kurdistan after the first 4ersian "ulf War+And the Kearsarge provides a large floating hospital+Already' a military airlift of refugees is under way+ ?our more flights of propeller-driven *->@=s carrying international refugees bac( to their home nations were planned for Sunday+ 6arlier military flights carried relief supplies for refugee camps /ust beyond )ibya0s border and then carried out 6gyptians who had escaped into #unisia+But the firepower arriving off #ripoli could prove convenient' and not only to protect thee9pedition from coming under attac(+ #he flotilla can be seen as a modern-day e9ample of 1gunboat diplomacy2 % intended to embolden rebels and sha(e the confidence of loyalist forces and mercenaries' perhaps even inspiring a palace coup+Should ,r+ $bama opt for direct intervention' he has a range of choices short of what ,r+ "ates cautioned could be an e9pensive' e9hausting 1no-flight2 3one % though that might be simpler than he portrayed' if the &nited States proved willing to attac( )ibyan runways' missiles and radars outright+Another tactic would be to air-drop weapons and supplies to rebels' an idea floated Sunday by Stephen Hadley' who served 4resident "eorge W+ Bush as national security adviser+1f there is a way to get weapons into the hands of the rebels' if we can get antiaircraft systems so that they can enforce a no-fly 3one over their own territory' that would be helpful'2 ,r+ Hadley said on 1State of the &nion2 on *!!+$ther options include inserting small Special $perations teams' perhaps /ust a do3en soldiers' to assist the rebels' as was done in Afghanistan to topple the #aliban+#he teams are specially trained to turn ragtag rebel groups almost overnight into more effective fighters' with a modest infusion of (now-how' e:uipment and leadership+A handful of stri(es on valued government or military targets could be ordered' as was done in the "ulf of Sidra raids in >AB8 after )ibya was lin(ed to the bombing of a Berlin club popular with American troops+ CAn American plane was shot down' and residential areas were blasted' showing the many ris(s of even a limited operation+D#here are ample planes based in 6urope and on the aircraft carrier 6nterprise and its stri(e group' now in the Red Sea' for missions over )ibya+4entagon officials said Sunday that those vessels were carefully sailing in the direction of the Sue3 *anal' gateway to the ,editerranean+Support for a no-flight 3one was voiced Sunday by Senator 5ohn Kerry' the ,assachusetts Eemocrat who chairs the Senate ?oreign Relations *ommittee' as well astwo Republicans % Senator ,itch ,c*onnell of Kentuc(y' the minority leader' and Senator 5ohn ,c*ain of Ari3ona+,r+ ,c*onnell urged e9ploring other options li(e 1aiding and arming the insurgents+2 But he cautioned he was 1not sure who the insurgents are2 so the &nited States 1ought to ma(e sure who we0re dealing with here+2But the administration offered no change in its position+1)ots of people throw around phrases li(e no-fly 3one % they tal( about it as though it0s /ust a video game'2 William ,+ Ealey' the new White House chief of staff' said in at appearance on 1,eet the 4ress2 on !B*+"en+ 5ohn 4+ 5umper' who served as Air ?orce chief of staff from 7==> to 7==F and commanded all Air ?orce missions in the ,iddle 6ast from >AA< to >AA8' said past flight-denial missions over ra: proved that re:uirements reach far beyond the /et fighters and bombers that are the most obvious instruments of carrying out a presidential order+#he destruction of )ibyan air-defense radars and missile batteries would be re:uired' perhaps using missiles launched from submarines or warships+ A vast fleet of tan(ers would be needed to refuel warplanes+ Search-and-rescue teams trained in land and sea operations would be on hand in case a plane went down+#he fleet of aircraft needed for such a mission would easily reach into the hundreds+ "iven the si3e of such a mission' it would be e9pected that American and !A#$ bases in6urope would be used' and that an American aircraft carrier would be positioned off )ibya+Joseph Berger contributed reporting from New York, and a!id "# Sanger from $ashington#.uestionsG>+ What is meant by a 1no-fly 3one2H 69plain your answer using details from the article+7+ Eescribe three military options that have been proposed for dealing with the fighting in )ibya+ &se details from the article to support your answer+@+ Eo you thin( that the &nited States should intervene in the conflict in )ibyaH Should we mind our own business' or do we have an obligation Cas a rich' powerful' influential nationD to help those people who are being oppressed and (illed by a brutal dictatorH 69plain your opinion+