Operation Odyssey dawn began late Saturday as allied forces from France, Britain, and the U.S. initiated an offensive military strike against Libya’s national air force. The attacks served as international enforcement of a 22-state issued no-fly zone over Libya, enacted by the Arab League on March 12.

In the strikes, 124 Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired at more than 20 coastal targets to incapacitate Libya’s grounded air force. Gaddafi’s forces continued an onslaught of rebel strongholds in the western part of the country while Allied fire rained down in the east.

Sunday, more U.S.-led air attacks on Libya are intensifying even as Gaddafi vows a bloody “long war” in response. Addressing the nation Sunday, Gaddafi referred to the allied forces as “new Nazis,” and “terrorists.”

Throughout the address, an image of a golden fist crushing a model plane that said “USA” filled the screen — a monument in Tripoli to the 1986 American bombing of Libya, in which one U.S. plane was downed.

At the time Gadhafi spoke, his regime was shelling the city of Misrata using tanks, artillery and cannons, a witness said.

Having failed to dislodge Gaddafi’s position with this “shock and awe” barrage of cruise missile attacks and air strikes, the United States and its European partners are left with the prospect of an extended air campaign with uncertain prospects of success and a growing risk of civilian casualties.

Libyan officials said 48 civilians were killed in the strikes, although no confirmation of the death toll is immediately available.

Following Saturday and Sunday’s attacks, the U.S. and its partners are left with the daunting uncertainty of how to proceed with Operation Odyssey Dawn.  The U.S. has no clear military option to escalate the operation.  A recent U.N. Security Council resolution bars international occupation of Libya during its revolution.

The operation is already drawing strong criticism from both within the U.S. and from countries in the Arab League.

Head of the Arab League, Secretary-General Amr Moussa condemned the civilian deaths, saying, “What is happening in Libya differs from the aim of imposing a no-fly zone, and what we want is the protection of civilians, not the shelling of more civilians.”

Shell-shocked Americans took a slightly different angle. No word of the attack was made in advance, either to Congress or to the general public, and no declaration of war has been made.

House Speaker John Boehner issued a statement:

“The President is the commander-in-chief, but the Administration has a responsibility to define for the American people, the Congress, and our troops what the mission in Libya is, better explain what America’s role is in achieving that mission, and make clear how it will be accomplished.”

What remains to be seen now is how the United States will proceed with our involvement in Libya’s domestic conflict, taking into account our current involvement in two other states.