Clinton: Libya no-fly zone under active consideration

Foreign Policy

Posted By Josh Rogin Tuesday, March 1, 2011 - 12:41 P

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Tuesday that the administration is actively considering implementing a no-fly zone over Libya and gave a full-throated defense of robust State Department funding.

Clinton testified on Tuesday morning before the House Foreign Affairs Committee led by Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), who has been critical of the administration's response to the unfolding events in the Arab world and has pledged to slash the State Department and foreign aid budgets this year.

Clinton had just returned from Geneva, where she met with other foreign ministers under the auspices of the U.N. Human Rights Council. She said preparations were underway to aid the Libyan opposition, but that there have been no final decisions on whether or how to use the U.S. military to support the ouster of Muammar al-Qaddafi, as world leaders have called for.

"We are working to translate the world's outrage into action and results," Clinton said, highlighting that USAID is sending two teams, one each to Egypt and Tunisia, to aid the humanitarian response to the flow of refugees coming from Libya.

The United States has moved the USS Enterprise carrier strike group to the area near Libya. Clinton said that military assets are being repositioned now to support the humanitarian mission there, but that direct military intervention remained a possibility.

"One of those actions under review is a no fly zone... it is under active consideration," said Clinton.

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