Options for Ousting Gaddafi Look Limited

(AP) The Obama administration is tempering its tough talk on Libya with a dose of reality, explaining that even a no-fly zone over the country would require a military attack on Moammar Gaddafi's regime. Administration efforts to rein in "loose talk" about military options to force Gaddafi from power were an acknowledgment that the options for international action to stem the violence appeared highly limited. "A no-fly zone begins with an attack on Libya to destroy the air defenses," Defense Secretary Robert Gates told a congressional panel Wednesday. The unspoken subtext 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 region, the risks associated with military action in Libya might be unacceptable.


2011-03-03 00:00:00

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