US Representative Justin Amash (R-MI) on March 25 announced legislation requiring an immediate halt to military action in Libya until Congress authorizes its resumption. The Restoring Essential Constitutional Constraints for Libyan Action Involving the Military (RECLAIM) Act cites Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution while declaring that President Barack Obama must obtain authorization before any further military action is conducted. Amash explained the legislation:

The anti-imperialist left is confused and divided on Libya—running a spectrum from vulgar responses that loan comfort to Qaddafi's propaganda, to more serious attempts to seek out a neither/nor position. But even commentaries in the latter category still dodge the question of what are the world's responsibilities to the Libyans as Qaddafi turns his guns on his own people. Especially since the West supplied much of that firepower, this question must concern us. Defense Industry Daily informed us March 3 that Libya has been notably armed by Franceover the past decade, while continuing to deal with its old mainstay Russia.

NATO agreed March 24 to take control of enforcing the no-fly zone over Libya. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said after lengthy negotiations: "We are taking action as part of a broad international effort to protect civilians against the Qaddafi regime." Rasmussen said the NATO operation was limited to enforcing the no-fly zone, but reports indicated that NATO members reached a "political agreement" to also command all other operations ostensibly aimed at protecting civilians—meaning strikes against Qaddafi's ground forces. The UK's Defense Secretary Liam Fox said that British Tornado jets launched missiles overnight at Libyan armored vehicles in the strategic eastern town of Ajdabiya.

As Allied bombardment of Tripoli continued, Libyan rebels advanced on Ajdabiya March 24 in their bid to retake the strategic eastern oil town from troops loyal to Moammar Qaddafi. The rebels, whose weapons range from Kalashnikovs to knives, face cordons of tanks guarding approaches to the city, and the populace is fleeing en masse. In Benghazi, rebel spokesman Ahmed Omar Bani said: "We are trying to negotiate with these people [Qaddafi troops] in Ajdabiya because we are almost sure that they have lost contact with their headquarters. Truthfully some of the Ajdabiya militias have asked to surrender, to be left alone and to go back home. But we cannot leave them to go without interrogation because the answers we get from them will be useful in saving lives." (Middle East Online, March 24)

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said in Cairo March 23 that the UN Security Council resolution authorizing a no-fly zone in Libya is "not time-limited" and that it was unrealistic to expect military action to be over in a matter of weeks. "So I think that there is no current timeline in terms of when it might end," he told reporters. The comments came as nearly 12 hours of Allied air-strikes broke the Libyan regime's five-day siege of the key rebel-held town of Misurata. Aerial bombardment destroyed tanks and artillery, sending the bulk of Moammar Qaddafi's besieging forces fleeing, and securing the town for the rebels. The battle for Misurata is said to have cost some 100 lives from shelling, snipers and street fighting. (Middle East Online, The Guardian, March 23)

As air-strikes continue on Libya, Tripoli on March 21 accused both Allied forces and rebels of breaking a ceasefire, which it had announced late the previous day—but rebel sources said Qaddafi's troops continued to attack their western enclave of Misurata. Qaddafi's troops retreated 100 kilometers from the rebel capital of Benghazi after being strafed by coalition aircraft, but beat off a rebel advance on their new positions in Ajdabiya. Gen. Carter Ham, head of the US Africa Command, said US forces have no mission to support a ground offensive by the rebels—but that Qaddafi's troops in the Benghazi area show "little will or capability to resume offensive operations."

US, French and British warplanes continued to strike targets in Libya March 21—including Qaddafi's central compound, sparking accusations that Allied forces are trying to kill the Libyan leader. This was denied by the Pentagon, but Hillary Clinton stated: "We will continue to work with our partners in the international community to press Qaddafi to leave, and to support the legitimate aspirations of the Libyan people." There were rumors that Qaddafi had been killed; he spoke the day before the strike to pledge resistance to the Allies' "naked aggression," but hasn't been heard from since. The Libyan military announced a ceasefire, but this was met by skepticism. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said: "I sincerely hope and urge the Libyan authorities to keep their word. They have been continuing to attack the civilian population." Rebel fighters trying to retake the eastern town of Ajdabiya said they were driven back by rocket and tank fire from government loyalists still controlling approaches to the city. Fighting was also reported from Misurata, the last western city held by the rebels.

The international operation to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya "has been successful," top US military commander Michael Mullen said March 20. "They are no longer marching on Benghazi," Mullen, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told ABC News. Meanwhile, the Arab League secretary general, Amr Moussa, protested the air-strikes against Libya, saying he would call a league meeting to reconsider Arab approval of the Western military intervention. "What is happening in Libya differs from the aim of imposing a no-fly zone," he said. "And what we want is the protection of civilians and not the shelling of more civilians." (Middle East Online, WP, March 20)