Obama Outlines Case for Libya Intervention

In a televised address, the U.S. president said he would pursue the overthrow of Moammar Gadhafi through non-military means.

Faced with skepticism from a public weary of nearly a decade of war in Muslim countries, Barack Obama spoke at the National Defence University Monday to explain why he had approved military intervention in Libya. It was his first televised address since the start of the Libyan mission, which Obama announced with a low-profile audio address from Brazil. The president said it was in the strategic interest of the U.S. to prevent the slaughter of civilians around the world, but promised the mistakes of the costly Iraq war would not be repeated. He vowed to stick to the UN mandate, which only authorizes the protection of civilians, and said he would pursue Gadhafi’s overthrow through sanctions.