Evans, Malcolm Paul, 1945-:[Hillary Clinton on Libya] 14 March 2011

American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks; she says 'Unlike Iraq and Afghanistan, which didn't realize they wanted to be liberated, and so we were compelled to go there and tell them the people of Libya are dying in the streets for the ideal and so clearly we should wait to see if they really mean it!' Context - The people of Libya have risen against their despotic leader Colonel Gaddafi, demanding that he stand down and that free and democratic elections be held. Unlike the leaders in both Tunisia and Egypt who held back against the popular uprisings and so there were comparatively few deaths and both leaders have in fact departed, Colonel Gaddafi has unleashed his military might against the rebels which has resulted in thousands of deaths and his starting to get the upper hand. Britain and the US appear to be at odds over the imposition of a no-fly zone over Libya as the UK joined forces with France and Lebanon to press for a fresh UN security council resolution. Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, played down the prospects of a no-fly zone when she declared that there were "other ways" to help the opposition as she warned against unilateral action. Hillary Clinton said "It is important to underscore that unilateral action is not an option. International action must be the route we take." The cautious stance of Clinton contrasted with Hague who raised the possibility of imposing a no-fly zone without authorisation from the UN. The foreign secretary told the Commons foreign affairs select committee: "Are there some circumstances in which countries have the right to act and it is legal even without a security council resolution? From all the legal advice I have received, there are circumstances." (Guardian 16 March 2011) The White House said on Tuesday (15 March) it was exploring ways to free up some of the billions of dollars of assets seized from Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's government to provide help for the Libyan opposition. President Barack Obama also planned to meet his national security team on Tuesday (15 March) to discuss how to put more pressure on Gaddafi to step down. (Reuters 15 March 2011)

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