OBAMA SPEECH:PRESIDENT BARACK Obama was to deliver one of the most important speeches of his presidency last night, in the hope of persuading the American public that he has acted judiciously in the Libyan crisis.
The White House described the address at the National Defence University as an effort “to update the American people on the situation in Libya, including the actions we’ve taken with allies and partners to protect the Libyan people from the brutality of Muammar Gadafy, the transition to Nato command and control, and our policy going forward.”
About half the US population supported the US intervention, according to a poll last week. But that support is expected to wane.
When the Libyan uprising started in mid-February, Mr Obama was criticised for doing nothing. The Obama administration then worked with Britain, France and the Arab League to obtain two UN Security Council resolutions imposing sanctions on Col Gadafy and referring him to the International Criminal Court of justice, then authorising the use of force to protect civilians.
As the US played the lead military role for the first week of the war, the president’s critics focused on the apparent contradiction between his stated goal of ending Col Gadafy’s rule and his constant assertion that the US would play only a supporting role “for days, not weeks”.
Mr Obama came under increasing pressure to explain himself at length, especially after the House speaker John Boehner addressed a letter packed with questions for the president. Many Democrats agreed with Mr Boehner’s questions regarding the cost, duration and goal of the US commitment.
Mr Obama waited until he could announce that responsibility for command and control had been transferred to Nato, something achieved on Sunday.
In his radio address at the weekend, a sort of rehearsal for last night’s speech, Mr Obama stressed the “limited scope and specific purpose” of the Libyan intervention.
“The United States should not – and cannot – intervene every time there’s a crisis somewhere in the world,” he said.
