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Beginning Tuesday, it appeared that airstrikes against Libyan defenses, including those carried out by the U.S., were on the decline, apparently making good on President Barack Obama’s promise that the U.S. would shift into a supporting role after transferring command of the operation to NATO on Wednesday.

gwen moore

In a statement provided to NewsBuzz on Wednesday, Congresswoman Gwen Moore, a Democrat representing the Milwaukee area, emphasized U.S. limitations in Libya, echoing the concerns of other members of Wisconsin’s congressional delegation.

“When there are humanitarian concerns, when governments launch widespread operations against their populations, our ability to help is very much limited,” Moore said. “None of us want a full-scale ground invasion, and our coalition allies and the capacity of the Libyan people to seize the opportunity have made this engagement possible.”

In a speech on Monday, Obama said the U.S. joined in attacks on Libyan army forces two weeks ago to stop the Libyan Army attacks on civilians protesting national leader Muammar Gaddafi. The president said the country “will remain dangerous” but refused to commit the U.S. to toppling him. “It will be a task for the international community and, more importantly, a task for the Libyan people themselves,” he said.

Ill-equipped rebel forces won early victories with U.S. air cover but suffered losses on Wednesday as airstrikes declined.

The UN has endorsed using force to protect civilians, not a regime change, and the new NATO-led coalition may be following a stricter interpretation of this mandate. Rebel forces, as a result, are losing ground, The Christian Science Monitor reported on Wednesday.

The newspaper suggests the rebels may have overextended themselves by attempting to capture Gaddafi’s hometown, an assault that got little support from the international coalition.

NewsBuzz reported earlier this week that most of Wisconsin’s congressional representatives are either skeptical of U.S. involvement in Libya or oppose it outright.

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