It looks like Sens. McCain and Graham knew even less than they should have or were just looking for a way to fault Obama. See "Libya - Three cheers and a raspberry". And I ignored something I had known but forgotten.
McCain and Graham wanted the "full weight of American airpower", and I assumed any involvement would hinder the Libyan cause. Well, it seems American airpower was used efficiently and without a lot of flash and weight.
"U.S. and NATO officials cited an intensification of U.S. aerial surveillance in and around the capital as a major factor in helping to tilt the balance…" and "… the United States established around-the-clock surveillance over the dwindling areas that Libyan military forces still controlled, using armed Predator drones to detect, track and occasionally fire at those forces." - Eric Schmitt and Steven Lee Myers, New York Times, republished in the Star Tribune, 2011-08-22
