President
Obama: U.S. Has 'Stopped Qaddafi's Deadly Advance' in Libya
Published March 28, 2011
| FoxNews.com
AP
President Obama speaks about U.S. military intervention in Libya on March 28 in Washington, D.C.
President Obama said Monday the United States and its allies "have stopped (Muammar) Qaddafi's deadly advance" in Libya, announcing that NATO will assume full command of the military mission Wednesday.
The president, delivering an address to the nation meant to answer questions about the duration and purpose of U.S. military involvement in Libya, defended his decision to send in U.S. forces. He said the United States had a "responsibility to act" to stop a "massacre" in Libya, and that to do otherwise would have been a "betrayal of who we are."
Obama stressed that the country is "mindful" of the risks involved when intervening overseas, but said "our interests and values are at stake" in Libya. He said "countless lives have been saved."
The president, unlike his predecessors, chose to deliver an address about U.S. military action not from the Oval Office, but before a military audience at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C.
He's also speaking more than a week after U.S. forces started launching missiles into Libya -- whereas his predecessors typically addressed the public from the very start of military involvement overseas.
That delay only compounded the criticism he's been facing from Congress. Some lawmakers say he should have first sought permission on Capitol Hill before committing U.S. forces; others complain that he has not been clear about whether the United States would be willing to end the military mission with Muammar al-Qaddafi still in power.
The president spoke Monday as rebel forces continued to clash with those loyal to Qaddafi's regime. The protection from western allies has undoubtedly helped the rebels recover lost ground, but the outcome could not be predicted. Rebels were advancing toward Qaddafi's hometown of Sirte on Monday, but a top U.S. army official said the opposition is not organized and "not a very robust organization."
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said candidly Sunday that nobody knows how long the U.S. military could be involved in the conflict. But administration officials defended the decision to, without a vote from Congress, order the military strikes in support of a U.N.-approved no-fly zone, saying thousands could have been killed if the United States did not act.
Before his speech, Obama spoke Monday by videoconference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister David Cameron about the transition to NATO command.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/03/28/obama-delivers-address-nation-libya-intervention/#ixzz1HwX8yh1h
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