As Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi moved to recapture territory seized by his opponents in recent weeks, a spokesman for U.S. President Barack Obama defended the administration against charges that it was "sitting on the fence" over military action to help the opposition.
Obama's press secretary, Jay Carney, argued at a White House briefing on Tuesday that the administration had moved "with the utmost urgency" to take "dramatic action".
Asked whether the U.S. would support the enforcement of a no-fly zone over Libya – thus preventing Gaddafi's air force from attacking opposition forces from the air – Carney would say only that the administration was reviewing its options.
"We feel that it is important that any action like that that might be taken should be done in concert with our international partners. Through the United Nations would be our preferable vehicle for that, and therefore we would look to the UN as a forum for evaluating that option."
Pressed repeatedly on the issue by journalists of the White House press corps, he added: "I do not believe that the American people would want the U.S. President to act unilaterally in a way to engage militarily without taking careful consideration of what the consequences of that would be…"
He said Obama was asking "is this an option that can be effective? Is it the right option? What are the costs associated with it? What are the risks associated with it? And will it – when I say the right option… what confidence do we have that it will achieve the goals that we set if we were to implement it, because it is not a minor undertaking."
Carney also said it was important for the U.S. to get international consensus "precisely so that it is not viewed by those who oppose positive democratic reform as the dictate of the West or the United States".
He said action needed to be supported by organizations such as the Arab League. The league declared support for a no-fly zone last week.
He also said other options were being discussed, such as financing the Libyan opposition with the $32 billion in foreign assets which had been seized from the Gaddafi government.
