- The U.S. military is moving naval and air forces into position around Libya, the Pentagon said Monday, as Western countries weigh possible intervention against Moammar Gadhafi's regime.The redeployment of “naval and air forces” would give U.S. President Barack Obama a range of options in the crisis, said Lapan, without specifying what ships and aircraft had been given orders or what potential action was under consideration.
As Gadhafi's troops assaulted opposition forces, U.S. and European leaders were weighing the use of NATO air power to impose a no-fly zone over Libya to stop Gadhafi from using air strikes against his own people.- For any military intervention featuring air power, U.S. commanders could turn to the USS Enterprise aircraft carrier, which is currently in the Red Sea, as well as the amphibious ship the USS Kearsarge, which has a fleet of helicopters and about 2,000 Marines on board.
As of Monday, the nuclear-powered USS Enterprise had moved to the north of the Red Sea, near the Suez Canal, according to the U.S. Navy's website.- Apart from a possible no-fly zone, Western nations were also looking at setting up a humanitarian “corridor” in neighboring Tunisia or Egypt to help refugees, the New York Times reported Sunday.
- The Obama administration also was discussing whether the American military could disrupt communications to prevent Gadhafi from broadcasting in Libya, the Times wrote.
U.S. and NATO bases in Italy could serve as potential staging areas for any action against Libya, including the U.S. Sixth Fleet command near Naples.- The American military was preparing for a range of possible options but no final decision had been taken, a defense official said.
The US says Libya could sink into civil war unless Gaddafi quits amid fears that the uprising - the bloodiest against long-serving rulers in north Africa and the Middle East - could cause a humanitarian crisis. But Gaddafi remains defiant and his son, Saif al-Islam, has warned the West against launching military action, insisting that his father would neither step down nor go into exile. Source: The Agency
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