Page 13 - Libya Operation News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Has opened for the first time in almost two months only to close again just a few seconds later. to prevent extreme losses, trading is held automatically. that threshold was breached almost immediately after wednesday's opening bell. well, despite the close coordination of coalition forces over libya, there are major questions about who should ultimately be in charge of the operation. the political battle brewing behind the libyan air war. matthew? >> reporter: yeah, a lot of unity among the allies enforcing that u.n. mandated no-fly zone over libya. the big question is who will take over co...

Operation is to be neutral. it's to end the loss of civilian lives if, indeed, the coalition does support these rebel forces in that manner. so providing them with weapons. backing them militarily. there's going to be a lot of questions in the international community what the true intention of this operation is. >> cnn's reza sayah. adding to that the u.s. commander in the region says the allied strikes have undermined the strength of libya's air force. but a lot of people are asking what happens next. we want to bring in david hartwell. thank you very much for being with us, mr. hartwell. t...

Where the battle will go next? >> reporter: well, i think all indications from what we're hearing from rebel forces is they're the not done. they want to turn the tables and move west towards tripoli. at this point, it doesn't like they have that capacity. they tried to move on to the pro-gadhafi stronghold. they've been repelled back a number of times. but there's no indication that they want to give up. our arwa damon last night spoke to a military leader for the rebel forces, and he openly is asking allied forces for weapons. these rebel forces still think they're outmatched, outgunned by p...

With spending and debt such big issues right now been let's find out how much the libyan issue is costing the united states. >> and i'm not great in math, carol, but it doesn't take a genius to know this operation is costing a lot of money. we've talked a lot about federal spending. the libya operation is no exception when it comes to costliness. few look at the cost of one f-15 fighter jet, it's about $10,000 an hour to keep it flying. you know, because you've got fuel, maintenance, all the things that go into it. so when you're talking about establishing, say, this no-fly zone, a lot of calc...

>> we've already spent over $100 million in this libya operation with the missiles we've sent. we have spent $100 million at the same time we have to cut schools, infrastructure, we have to cut r & d, the very thing the chinese are doubling down on to beat us this century economically. $2 billion a week in afghanistan. we don't have the troops and we don't have the money. >> well, i still think they're being unclear about the intent of libya. while we go to japan, keep in mind, i'm sure the concept at least the white house is driving is that the president is keeping his eye on jobs and worki...