President Barack Obama condemned the “outrageous” crackdown by Libyan security forces on protesters and said Washington would work with international partners to hold Muammar Gaddafi’s government accountable.
“The suffering and bloodshed is outrageous and it is unacceptable. So are threats and orders to shoot peaceful protesters,” Obama said in his first public comments on the violence in Libya.
He did not directly criticize Gaddafi and he stopped short of backing sanctions against the oil-producing North African country.
Obama, the first U.S. president to meet Gaddafi, has faced criticism in some quarters for not speaking out sooner, but U.S. officials say they have tempered their response to ensure thousands of Americans in Libya can be safely evacuated.
“We are doing everything we can to protect American citizens. It is my highest priority,” Obama said at the White House.
Obama spoke as a U.S.-government chartered ferry prepared to evacuate Americans and other foreigners to the island of Malta in the Mediterranean. The U.S. government estimates there are several thousand Americans living in Libya. Most hold dual citizenship with about 600 carrying U.S. passports only.
(Source: Reuters)
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3 Responses
Confine Ahmadinajab to Tehran.
1. Fan existing rebellion particularly in the oil region on the Gulf.
2. Declare a provisional gov’t in the oil region.
3. Suspend payment of oil royalties to the Tehran gov’t.
4. Freeze Iran assets held in banks.
Tehran is far from the oil region. Ahmadinajab will need an army to control it. Because of the popular revolt he will not have citizen soldiers. Because of the financial sanctions he will not have money to hire mercenaries. He can use non-professionals to control the capital but not much else. Effectively he will be banished to the capital. The same approach will work against Gadafi.
Have Germany take the political lead in this operation with rapid support from the Czech Republic, Israel, and Italy. Follow this up with support from Romania, Uzbekistan, Jordan, Austria, the Philippines, the Ukraine, and the island nations of the Pacific and the Caribbean. Let Obama lean toward the bad guys until it looks like he’s an ally of maniacs and monsters.
I’d say the odds of Germany leading an international military coalition to do much of anything, without the approval of any other power, (and with Italy no less) in the next century are pretty small.
#2 I second that, there is a better chance of the UK, and France acting, although I do not put much faith in it.
BTW #1 you are forgetting about his own private SS, the IRGC.