[28] On 21 March 2011, President Obama stated the U.S. military action would be scaled back soon[29] and was considering handing over command of the operation to either France, the UK or NATO.

[32] 21h: The first main strike involved the launch of 112 Tomahawk cruise missiles from U.S. and UK ships against shoreline air defenses of the Gaddafi regime.

[13][64][65][66] The U.S. Department of Defense reports that the dismantling of Libya's ability to hinder the enforcement of the UN no-fly zone was only the first of multiple stages in the operation.

[73] Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, states that there would be continuous allied air cover over Benghazi, and that the no-fly zone "is effectively in place".

[74] An EC-130J was recorded warning Libyan shipping "If you attempt to leave port, you will be attacked and destroyed immediately" in Arabic, French and English.

[80] At approximately 22:30 CET (evening of 21 March), a USAFE F-15E 91-0304 operating out of RAF Lakenheath (TDY to Aviano Air Base) crashed about 25 miles (40 km) southwest of Benghazi.

[4] Two Marine Harriers accompanying the rescue force dropped two 500 lb bombs at the request of the ejected pilot, prior to the MV-22 landing in an attempt to deter an unidentified group of people heading towards the area.

[98] Attack submarine USS Providence completed all assigned strike missions and left the area to return to its previous duties.

[101][102][103] The four Danish F-16 fighters flew a total of 43 missions and dropped 107 precision munitions in operation Odyssey Dawn before transiting to NATO command.

On 24 March White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters "We are not engaged in militarily-driven regime change."

[105] However, this conflicts with multiple statements seeming to imply regime change as at least one objective of the Operation, including a report made to Congress as required by House Resolution 292 Archived 15 December 2012 at the Wayback Machine: Establishing these conditions would pave the way for a genuine political transition – of which Qadhafi's departure is a critical component.

To bring about this objective, along with the international community, the United States responded to this crisis by developing, implementing, and monitoring sanctions and freezing billions in Government of Libya assets, building a broad international coalition focused on escalating diplomatic pressure on Qadhafi and increasing his isolation, and initiating and sustaining political support for military operations.

Politically, U.S. leadership continues to play an important role in maintaining and expanding this international consensus that Qadhafi must step down, sending an unambiguous message to the regime.

After many meetings with senior opposition members in Washington and abroad, combined with daily interactions with the U.S. mission in Benghazi, we have stated that the TNC has demonstrated itself to be the legitimate interlocutor of the Libyan people, in contrast to the Qadhafi regime that has lost all legitimacy to rule.