Perilous
Times
Obama keeps all his options in Libya, says world must be
ready to move fast if crisis deepens
By Ben Feller, The Associated Press | The Canadian Press – Thu, 3
Mar, 2011 8:50 PM EST
WASHINGTON - Wary that Libya's bloody crisis could devolve into
humanitarian chaos, President Barack Obama on Thursday insisted he
is considering every intervention option, including military
might, along with America's allies. To Moammar Gadhafi, he
declared: "Step down from power and leave."
Obama made clear he has not ruled out establishing a no-fly zone
over Libya to prevent Gadhafi's air forces from bombing rebels.
His broad assurance came one day after his defence chief, Robert
Gates, said bluntly that a no-fly zone would amount to an act of
war and warned about too much "loose talk" of U.S. military
intervention in Libya.
"I don't want us hamstrung," Obama said in defending his approach.
Still, the president made clear he does not intend to act without
the consent of international peers, and that the emphasis of the
United States is on helping refugees, heading off a humanitarian
crisis and hastening the end of Gadhafi's reign.
"There is a danger of a stalemate that, over time, could be
bloody," Obama said in an appearance with visiting Mexican
President Felipe Calderon. "And that is something that we're
obviously considering. So what I want to make sure of is, is that
the United States has full capacity to act, potentially rapidly,
if the situation deteriorated in such a way that you had a
humanitarian crisis on our hands."
In the Libyan capital, Gadhafi vowed, "We will fight until the
last man and woman." He lashed out against Europe and the United
States for their pressure on him to step down, warning that
thousands of Libyans will die if U.S. and NATO forces intervene in
the conflict.
Part of an upheaval across North Africa and the Middle East, the
Libyan uprising has pitted anti-government protesters against the
strongman who has ruled Libya for four decades. Gadhafi has
unleashed a violent crackdown against those seeking his ouster,
drawing international condemnation and sanctions. Hundreds have
been killed, perhaps more.
Trying to impose pressure, but with only so much leverage, Obama
suggested that Gadhafi loyalists should switch sides in support of
the revolutionaries.
"Those around him have to understand that violence that they
perpetrate against innocent civilians will be monitored and they
will be held accountable for it," Obama said. "And so to the
extent that they are making calculations in their own minds about
which way history is moving, they should know history is moving
against Colonel Gadhafi."
Calling Gadhafi a ruler with no legitimacy, Obama said: "Colonel
Gadhafi needs to step down from power and leave."
Obama offered his most extensive remarks on the Libya crisis on a
day when rebels strengthened their hold on the strategic oil
installation at Brega after repelling an attempt by Gadhafi
loyalists to retake it.
The U.S. president announced that American military aircraft would
play a humanitarian role by helping Egyptians who had fled Libya
and become stranded in Tunisia. The planes are to fly them from
Tunisia back to Egypt.
"You've got tens of thousands of people who are gathered at the
border," Obama said. "We've got to make sure that they can get
home."
Officials say U.S. aircraft could leave as early as Friday for the
first mission, but details were still unfolding.
"We're ready and we've been planning for this," said Navy Cmdr.
Wendy L. Snyder, a Defence Department spokeswoman.
On the prospect of a military response, Obama made clear he does
not plan to have the United States go it alone. He said U.S.
responses to the uprising in Egypt ensured that "we did not see
anti-American sentiment arising out of that movement" about
heavy-handedness from the United States.
"The region will be watching carefully to make sure we're on the
right side of history, but also that we are doing so as a member
of the world community," he said.
The Pentagon has ordered two Navy warships into the Mediterranean,
but Obama did not discuss the possibility of specific military
actions such as providing air cover for rebels.
The U.S., Britain and other NATO countries are drawing up
contingency plans to impose a no-fly zone over Libya. But the idea
has been rejected by Russia, which holds a veto-holding seat on
the U.N. Security Council.
In order to ground the Libyan air force, and thereby provide air
cover for the rebels, U.S. and partner aircraft first would attack
Libya's anti-aircraft defences. Freed of the threat of being shot
down, U.S. and partner planes could then patrol Libya's air space
and down any planes that got airborne.
Obama never mentioned the no-fly zone idea directly, but when
pressed on it, he said: "That is one of the options we would be
looking at."
Gates' comments on Wednesday essentially acknowledged that, short
of an unlikely military offensive by a U.S.-led coalition, the
options for international action to stem the violence are limited.
On Thursday, Republican Sen. John McCain took issue with Gates'
comment about "loose talk" about a no-fly zone.
"May I just say, personally I don't think it's 'loose talk' on the
part of the people on the ground in Libya or the Arab League or
others, including the prime minister of England, that this option
should be given the strongest consideration," McCain said.
The unspoken subtext to Gates' remarks on Wednesday was that with
U.S. forces already deeply committed in Afghanistan, still winding
down military operations in Iraq and on the watch for surprises in
Iran and elsewhere in the Persian Gulf region, the risks
associated with military action in Libya might be unacceptable.
___
Associated Press writers Robert Burns, Bradley Klapper, Donna
Cassata, Pauline Jelinek and Matthew Lee in Washington and Gregory
Katz in London contributed to this report.