Testifying before Congress, the chair of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, said the forces loyal to Libyan leader Col. Muammar Gaddafi are not near a breaking point, despite being weakened by the bombing by allied forces.

Admiral Mike Mullen: “We have actually fairly seriously degraded his military capabilities, his air defense capabilities, his command and control capabilities. We’ve attrited his overall forces at about the 20- to 25-percent level. That doesn’t mean that he’s about to break, from a military standpoint, because that’s just not the case.”

There has been speculation over whether rebel fighters will be able to defeat Gaddafi without a ground invasion by foreign troops. Appearing with Mullen, U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates reiterated vows not to send U.S. soldiers into Libya.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates: “There will be no American boots on the ground in Libya. Deposing the Gaddafi regime, as welcome as that eventuality would be, is not part of the military mission. In my view, the removal of Colonel Gaddafi will likely be achieved over time through political and economic measures and by his own people.”