Noose around Qaddafi tightening: Obama
March 12th, 2011 - 1:56 pm ICT by ANI
Washington, Mar. 12 (ANI): The United States and the international community “are slowly tightening the noose on Qaddafi,” President Barack Obama said in a news conference on Friday.
“It is in the United States’ interest and the interest of people in Libya that Qaddafi leave,” CBS News quoted Obama, as saying.
He added: “We’re going to take a wide range of actions to try to bring about that outcome… And as I’ve said before, when it comes to U.S. military actions, whether it’s a no-fly zone or other options, you’ve got to balance costs versus benefits. And, you know, I don’t take those decisions lightly.”
However, Qaddafi is reported to be digging in, taking back territory from the rebel forces in Ras Lanuf and other areas with superior military force.
“The plan is to squash the rebels with no mercy,” his son Saif Qaddafi told CBS News.
When asked by CBS News whether the U.S. had a moral obligation to intervene in Libya, Obama said, “I continue to believe that not only the United States but the international community has an obligation to do what it can to prevent a repeat of something like what occurred in the Balkans in the ’90s; what occurred in Rwanda.”
One option is 24-hour surveillance, which would provide an alert system to detect if Qaddafi forces are carrying out civilian massacres, Obama said.
“Obviously, we’re going to have to look at what develops on the ground on a case-by-case basis. It’s going to require some judgment calls, and those are difficult ones,” he added.
He said that NATO will be meeting on Tuesday to consider a no-fly zone,and added that the U.S. has been in discussions with both Arab and African countries to gauge their support for such an action. (ANI)
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Tags: african countries, balkans, barack obama, case basis, cbs, cbs news, civilian massacres, fly zone, judgment, libya, military actions, military force, moral obligation, nato, news conference, no mercy, noose, rebel forces, rebels, rwanda