U.S. Urges United Nations Lead on Libya

The Obama administration pressed Thursday for greater United Nations authority to confront Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi’s forces by land, air and sea, while insisting that Arab governments play a central role in any possible military action.

White House appears reluctant to take hard line with Arab monarchies
After a day of negotiations Wednesday in the U.N. Security Council, it remained unclear whether the United States or allied governments were making concrete plans to intervene militarily against Gaddafi’s forces, which have made significant gains on the ground against rebel strongholds.

But U.S. diplomats sent the clearest signal yet that the Obama administration is willing to contemplate military operations even beyond a no-fly zone to resolve the crisis in the oil-rich nation. WaPo