BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — President Barack Obama says the United States has launched a limited military action in Libya against the forces of Moammar Gadhafi.
The president, speaking during a visit to Brazil, said the United States and its allies had not sought this outcome but that Gadhafi had given the West no choice. In Obama’s words: “We cannot stand idly by when a tyrant tells his people there will be no mercy.”
Obama says he is aware of the risks of taking military action. He declared once again that the United States will not send ground forces into Libya.