The United States has thrown its weight behind the Arab League's call for a United Nations no-fly zone over Libya, where government troops backed by fighter jets are battling rebels seeking to remove Muammar Gaddafi from power.
Washington, which would play a leading role in enforcing any no-fly zone, called the declaration an "important step", but it stopped short of commitment to any military action and made no proposal for a swift meeting of the UN Security Council.
The Arab League's call for a no-fly zone was announced on Saturday by Oman's foreign minister, Youssef bin Alawi bin Abdullah, at a press conference which followed a meeting of the bloc's ministers in the Egyptian capital, Cairo.
Amr Moussa, the bloc's secretary-general, said the League had decided that "serious crimes and great violations" committed by Gaddafi's government against his people had stripped him of legitimacy.
But it was not clear if the League's call for a no-fly zone would provide the unequivocal regional endorsement that NATO required for military action to curb Gaddafi.
The US is downplaying the Al Jazeera article, but France is busy trying to make the no fly zone over Libya happen.
France and Britain have led calls to impose a no-fly zone and a French diplomatic source said on Monday that Paris was pushing the issue with foreign ministers arriving for the G8 talks. The meeting formally begins with a dinner on Monday and ends with a news conference on Tuesday afternoon.
Both Clinton and Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon were to meet Libyan opposition figures this week, either in Paris or in north Africa.
With violence worsening, "no option can be ruled out," foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero told an electronic press briefing as Gaddafi's troops battled rebel fighters for control of the oil town of Brega.
"The conclusions from the March 11 European summit and the Arab League's March 12 resolution clearly demonstrate the international community's firm commitment to protecting Libyan civilians," Valero said.
It's entirely possible we could have US planes over Libya by the end of the month, which of course will necessitate ground forces to stop Qaddafi from sabotaging oil terminals, which will necessitate years of intervention in the country at tremendous cost in money and blood...
And nobody bats an eye. Michael Barone complains that Obama isn't doing enough to cut the budget and isn't doing enough to declare war on Libya, and he complains about both at the same damn time. We have enough to give tax cuts to the rich. We have enough to bomb Libya. Screw our schools, roads, seniors, unemployed and everyone else.
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