President Barack Obama presented the case for U.S. intervention in Libya Monday evening, nine days after the international military operation began.
Speaking from the National Defense University in Washington, D.C., the President cast the decision in humanitarian terms, arguing that the circumstances required swift action in order to avoid the slaughter of Libyan rebels and civilians.
“We knew that if we waited one more day, Benghazi – a city nearly the size of Charlotte – could suffer a massacre that would have reverberated across the region and stained the conscience of the world,” Obama said. “It was not in our national interest to let that happen. I refused to let that happen.”
The President emphasized that the move was part of a coordinated, international effort sanctioned by the UN, a fact he highlighted by announcing that NATO would be taking full responsibility for the mission this Wednesday.
While Obama described the ultimate goal for the U.S. is seeing Libyan ruled Muammar Gaddafi abandon power, he explained that this was not the goal of the overall military mission, nor, in his view, should it be.
“If we tried to overthrow Gaddafi by force, our coalition would splinter. We would likely have to put U.S. troops on the ground, or risk killing many civilians from the air. The dangers faced by our men and women in uniform would be far greater. So would the costs, and our share of the responsibility for what comes next,” Obama argued, adding that the U.S. tried that approach in Iraq with disastrous consequences.
Expanding his message beyond Libya, Obama acknowledged that there will be crises in the future that will require U.S. action, but in a statement that may soon be known as the Obama doctrine, said that America’s response should no longer be unilateral.
“We should not be afraid to act,” Obama said. “But the burden of action should not be America’s alone.”