WASHINGTON — President Obama is coming under mounting criticism for his administration’s slow response to step in and try to stop the killing in Libya and aid refugees.
Sen. John McCain, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, called for the imposition of a no-fly zone over Libya to prevent further slaughter by forces loyal to Moammar Khadafy.
“If you want Khadafy to go, then one of the steps among many would be to establish a no-fly zone to prevent him from massacring his own people from the air,” said McCain (Ariz.).
There are “not a lot of aircraft that Khadafy has flying, his air-defense systems are certainly old, and it is not a major challenge — at least in my assessment — of being able to impose a no-fly zone.”
The White House has repeatedly stated that it is keeping the no-fly-zone option “on the table,” but Pentagon officials have testified about the complexity of putting it together.
Two US Air Force cargo planes flew to Djerba, Tunisia, with 4,000 blankets, 40 rolls of plastic sheeting and almost 10,000 water containers for Libyan refugees. The C-130 planes were set today to carry Egyptian refugees from Libya back to Egypt.
But Obama, who called forcefully for Khadafy’s resignation on Thursday after failing to speak on the issue for several days, is also getting criticized for US diplomatic and humanitarian efforts.
“You wonder why, for example, did it take so long for even getting humanitarian teams to the border,” said Michael Singh, a former National Security Council official under Condoleezza Rice now at the Washington Institute for Near East Studies.
“We’re still not really acting strongly in any way, shape or form to support opposition movements.”