The Obama administration is defending its decision to intervene militarily in Libya, but says the North African country is not a “vital interest” of the United States.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appeared on television talk shows Sunday morning to defend the U.S. decision to help enforce a no-fly zone over Libya.
Gates said that while Libya is not a vital U.S. interest, it is part of a region that is a vital interest. He also said the violence in Libya could put the revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia at risk. Clinton said Libya is a vital national interest for Britain, France, Italy and other NATO allies, as well as for Arab partners of the U.S.
Clinton said on ABC’s This Week that if Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi’s forces had overrun the rebel-held city of Benghazi, tens of thousands of people could have been slaughtered and hundreds of thousands forced to flee. She said the United States would have been criticized for doing nothing.
Clinton and Gates told CBS’s Face the Nation that the Libyan opposition may not have a well-organized fighting force, it is getting help from Libyan military members who have given up on Mr. Gadhafi.
Gates said Mr. Gadhafi’s military may start to see that it is in a no-win situation. He also said that there is no proof so far that the United States is responsible for civilian casualties in Libya.
Gates said intelligence reports say Mr. Gadhafi is placing bodies of people he killed at sites of U.S. attacks and blaming the deaths on American bombs.
President Barack Obama plans to address the American people Monday on the U.S. role in Libya after some in Congress say the mission and its objectives are still unclear.
