U.S. Authorizes Armed Drone Flights Over Libya

Defense Secretary Robert Gatese told reporters Thursday that the President Barack Obama has authorized the use of armed Predator drones over Libya.

“The President has said that when we have some unique capabilities, he is willing to use those,” Gates said during a press briefing.

General James Cartwright, the Vice Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, elaborated on the abilities that the drones could provide, explaining that they will allow NATO forces to hit targets that are closer to the ground, can operate well in urban areas where collateral damage is a concern and can provide “extended persistence” since they can patrol the entire day.

Cartwright added that a maximum of two will be allowed to operate in the country at any given time and that they were scheduled to begin flights today, but were delayed due to poor weather.

The announcement that the U.S. will send the equipment comes one day after the U.S. agreed to supply Libyan rebels with $25 million in non-lethal aid, despite the fact that, as Gates conceded Thursday, “there is still a lot we don’t know about the opposition.”