President Barack Obama is talking with other world leaders about how to address the crisis in Libya. The president spoke by telephone Thursday with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and is expected to do the same with British Prime Minister David Cameron.
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Obama has not eliminated from consideration any options to address the Libya crisis, including possible economic sanctions against the government of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.
"You know, obviously, sanctions are something we are looking at. I do not want to get into specifics. We are working very closely with the international community, and we are hoping and believe that the international community will speak with one voice, as I think is often the case."
Carney said Obama will continue consulting foreign leaders, and that he has not ruled out any potential courses of action, with or without help from other countries.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will go to Geneva over the weekend to discuss the situation in Libya and the Middle East with her counterparts as part of a ministerial meeting of the U.N. Human Rights Council.
In Thursday’s briefing with reporters, the president’s spokesman did not deny that imposing a military no-fly zone on Gadhafi’s forces is among the options being considered. He said the administration has not ruled out sending U.S. troops into Libya.
"There are no actions we are taking off the table," said Carney. "But what we are focused on are the options that we can take to affect the situation in the near term. And we would like to see the kind of concerted, broad-based international action that can compel the Libyan government to cease and desist from the kind of actions it is taking against its own people."
Carney said the U.S. is doing everything it can to safely evacuate Americans from Libya. He said where a response to the Libya crisis is concerned, the Obama administration is committed to "getting this right."
