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All options on the table for Libya: US

02 March 2011 03:05 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. High-ranking US defense officials say Washington is mulling over a full range of options for Libya and that two US warships have been sent into the Mediterranean Sea, APA reports quoting Press TV.

The USS Kearsarge, an amphibious assault ship capable of transporting up to 2,000 Marines, and the USS Ponce will be entering the Mediterranean "shortly," US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said following a Pentagon briefing session with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen, AFP reported on Tuesday.

The USS Kearsarge will be carrying 400 Marines from the United States, said Gates, adding that the two warships will then be joining the USS Enterprise, which is in the Red Sea en route to the Suez Canal.

Mullen stated that all options are on the table. However, he expressed caution about a potential no-fly zone in Libya.

"It’s an extraordinarily complex operation to set up," Mullen said.

On Monday, the United States positioned naval and air forces around Libya as the Libyan regime continued to attack the opposition.

The United States, Britain, and France have also sent hundreds of special forces to eastern Libya, who are setting up bases in the cities of Benghazi and Tobruk.

The senior US military officials also stated that NATO countries have failed to reach a unanimous agreement on any military intervention in Libya, apparently due to concerns over the possibility of a backlash from Arab states in the region.

"There is no unanimity within NATO for the use of armed force," said Gates, adding that there has been no authorization from the UN Security Council for any military intervention.

He went on to say that imposing a no-fly zone over Libya to prevent forces loyal to Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi from attacking the opposition would be "extraordinarily" complex because the measure would require taking out Libya’s air defenses.

"And the kinds of options that have been talked about in the press and elsewhere also have their own consequences, and second and third order effects, so they need to be considered very carefully," the US defense secretary cautioned.

He made the remarks on the same day that the United Nations General Assembly voted unanimously in favor of suspending Libya’s membership in the UN Human Rights Council.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, British Foreign Secretary William Hague claimed that putting a no-fly zone over Libya did not necessarily require a mandate from the UN.