美国总统奥巴马就利比亚战略演讲

National DefenseUniversity, Washington,

THEPRESIDENT: Tonight, I’d like to update the American people on the internationaleffort that we have led in Libya - what we’ve done, what we plan to do, and whythis matters to us.

Iwant to begin by paying tribute to our men and women in uniform who, onceagain, have acted with courage, professionalism and patriotism. They have movedwith incredible speed and strength. Because of them and our dedicateddiplomats, a coalition has been forged and countless lives have been saved.

Meanwhile,as we speak, our troops are supporting our ally Japan, leaving Iraq to itspeople, stopping the Taliban’s momentum in Afghanistan, and going after alQaeda all across the globe. As Commander-in-Chief, I’m grateful to oursoldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, Coast Guardsmen, and to their families. AndI know all Americans share in that sentiment.

For generations, the UnitedStates of America has played a unique role as an anchor of global security andas an advocate for human freedom. Mindful of the risks and costs of militaryaction, we are naturally reluctant to use force to solve the world’s manychallenges. But when our interests and values are at stake, we have aresponsibility to act. That’s what happened in Libya over the course of theselast six weeks.

Libyasits directly between Tunisia and Egypt -– two nations that inspired the worldwhen their people rose up to take control of their own destiny. For more thanfour decades, the Libyan people have been ruled by a tyrant -– Muammar Qaddafi.He has denied his people freedom, exploited their wealth, murdered opponents athome and abroad, and terrorized innocent people around the world –- includingAmericans who were killed by Libyan agents.

Lastmonth, Qaddafi’s grip of fear appeared to give way to the promise of freedom.In cities and towns across the country, Libyans took to the streets to claimtheir basic human rights. As one Libyan said, “For the first time we finallyhave hope that our nightmare of 40 years will soon be over.”

Facedwith this opposition, Qaddafi began attacking his people. As President, myimmediate concern was the safety of our citizens, so we evacuated our embassyand all Americans who sought our assistance. Then we took a series of swiftsteps in a matter of days to answer Qaddafi’s aggression. We froze more than$33 billion of Qaddafi’s regime’s assets. Joining with other nations at theUnited Nations Security Council, we broadened our sanctions, imposed an armsembargo, and enabled Qaddafi and those around him to be held accountable fortheir crimes. I made it clear that Qaddafi had lost the

confidenceof his people and the legitimacy to lead, and I said that he needed to stepdown from power.

Inthe face of the world’s condemnation, Qaddafi chose to escalate his attacks,launching a military campaign against the Libyan people. Innocent people weretargeted for killing. Hospitals and ambulances were attacked. Journalists werearrested, sexually assaulted, and killed. Supplies of food and fuel were chokedoff. Water for hundreds of thousands of people in Misurata was shut off. Citiesand towns were shelled, mosques were destroyed, and apartment buildings reducedto rubble. Military jets and helicopter gunships were unleashed upon people whohad no means to defend themselves against assaults from the air.

Confrontedby this brutal repression and a looming humanitarian crisis, I ordered warshipsinto the Mediterranean. European allies declared their willingness to commitresources to stop the killing. The Libyan opposition and the Arab Leagueappealed to the world to save lives in Libya. And so at my direction, Americaled an effort with our allies at the United Nations Security Council to pass ahistoric resolution that authorized a no-fly zone to stop the regime’s attacksfrom the air, and further authorized all necessary measures to protect theLibyan people.

Tendays ago, having tried to end the violence without using force, theinternational community offered Qaddafi a final chance to stop his campaign ofkilling, or face the consequences. Rather than stand down, his forces continuedtheir advance, bearing down on the city of Benghazi, home to nearly 700,000men, women and children who sought their freedom from fear.

Atthis point, the United States and the world faced a choice. Qaddafi declared hewould show “no mercy” to his own people. He compared them to rats, andthreatened to go door to door to inflict punishment. In the past, we have seenhim hang civilians in the streets, and kill over a thousand people in a singleday. Now we saw regime forces on the outskirts of the city. We knew that if wewanted -- if we waited one more day, Benghazi, a city nearly the size ofCharlotte, could suffer a massacre that would have reverberated across theregion and stained the conscience of the world.

Itwas not in our national interest to let that happen. I refused to let thathappen. And so nine days ago, after consulting the bipartisan leadership ofCongress, I authorized military action to stop the killing and enforce U.N.Security Council Resolution 1973.

Westruck regime forces approaching Benghazi to save that city and the peoplewithin it. We hit Qaddafi’s troops in neighboring Ajdabiya, allowing the

oppositionto drive them out. We hit Qaddafi’s air defenses, which paved the way for ano-fly zone. We targeted tanks and military assets that had been choking offtowns and cities, and we cut off much of their source of supply. And tonight, Ican report that we have stopped Qaddafi’s deadly advance.

Inthis effort, the United States has not acted alone. Instead, we have beenjoined by a strong and growing coalition. This includes our closest allies -–nations like the United Kingdom, France, Canada, Denmark, Norway, Italy, Spain,Greece, and Turkey –- all of whom have fought by our sides for decades. And itincludes Arab partners like Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, who have chosento meet their responsibilities to defend the Libyan people.

Tosummarize, then: In just one month, the United States has worked with ourinternational partners to mobilize a broad coalition, secure an internationalmandate to protect civilians, stop an advancing army, prevent a massacre, andestablish a no-fly zone with our allies and partners. To lend some perspectiveon how rapidly this military and diplomatic response came together, when peoplewere being brutalized in Bosnia in the 1990s, it took the internationalcommunity more than a year to intervene with air power to protect civilians. Ittook us 31 days.

Moreover,we’ve accomplished these objectives consistent with the pledge that I made tothe American people at the outset of our military operations. I said thatAmerica’s role would be limited; that we would not put ground troops intoLibya; that we would focus our unique capabilities on the front end of theoperation and that we would transfer responsibility to our allies and partners.Tonight, we are fulfilling that pledge.

Ourmost effective alliance, NATO, has taken command of the enforcement of the armsembargo and the no-fly zone. Last night, NATO decided to take on the additionalresponsibility of protecting Libyan civilians. This transfer from the UnitedStates to NATO will take place on Wednesday. Going forward, the lead inenforcing the no-fly zone and protecting civilians on the ground willtransition to our allies and partners, and I am fully confident that ourcoalition will keep the pressure on Qaddafi’s remaining forces.

Inthat effort, the United States will play a supporting role -- includingintelligence, logistical support, search and rescue assistance, andcapabilities to jam regime communications. Because of this transition to abroader, NATO-based coalition, the risk and cost of this operation -- to ourmilitary and to American taxpayers -- will be reduced significantly.

Sofor those who doubted our capacity to carry out this operation, I want to beclear: The United States of America has done what we said we would do.

That’snot to say that our work is complete. In addition to our NATO responsibilities,we will work with the international community to provide assistance to thepeople of Libya, who need food for the hungry and medical care for the wounded.We will safeguard the more than $33 billion that was frozen from the Qaddafiregime so that it’s available to rebuild Libya. After all, the money doesn’tbelong to Qaddafi or to us -- it belongs to the Libyan people. And we’ll makesure they receive it.

Tomorrow,Secretary Clinton will go to London, where she will meet with the Libyanopposition and consult with more than 30 nations. These discussions will focuson what kind of political effort is necessary to pressure Qaddafi, while alsosupporting a transition to the future that the Libyan people deserve

--  becausewhile our military mission is narrowly focused on saving lives, we continue topursue the broader goal of a Libya that belongs not to a dictator, but to itspeople.

Now,despite the success of our efforts over the past week, I know that someAmericans continue to have questions about our efforts in Libya. Qaddafi hasnot yet stepped down from power, and until he does, Libya will remaindangerous. Moreover, even after Qaddafi does leave power, 40 years of tyrannyhas left Libya fractured and without strong civil institutions. The transitionto a legitimate government that is responsive to the Libyan people will be adifficult task. And while the United States will do our part to help, it willbe a task for the international community and –- more importantly –- a task forthe Libyan people themselves.

Infact, much of the debate in Washington has put forward a false choice when itcomes to Libya. On the one hand, some question why America should intervene atall -– even in limited ways –- in this distant land. They argue that there aremany places in the world where innocent civilians face brutal violence at thehands of their government, and America should not be expected to police the world,particularly when we have so many pressing needs here at home.

It’strue that America cannot use our military wherever repression occurs. And giventhe costs and risks of intervention, we must always measure our interestsagainst the need for action. But that cannot be an argument for never acting onbehalf of what’s right. In this particular country -– Libya -- at thisparticular moment, we were faced with the prospect of violence on a horrificscale. We had a unique ability to stop that violence: an international mandatefor action, a broad coalition prepared to join us, the support of Arabcountries, and a plea for help from the Libyan people themselves. We also hadthe ability to stop Qaddafi’s forces in their tracks without putting Americantroops on the ground.

Tobrush aside America’s responsibility as a leader and -– more profoundly -– ourresponsibilities to our fellow human beings under such circumstances would havebeen a betrayal of who we are. Some nations may be able to turn a blind eye toatrocities in other countries. The United States of America is different. Andas President, I refused to wait for the images of slaughter and mass gravesbefore taking action.

Moreover,America has an important strategic interest in preventing Qaddafi fromoverrunning those who oppose him. A massacre would have driven thousands ofadditional refugees across Libya’s borders, putting enormous strains on thepeaceful –- yet fragile -– transitions in Egypt and Tunisia. The democratic impulsesthat are dawning across the region would be eclipsed by the darkest form ofdictatorship, as repressive leaders concluded that violence is the beststrategy to cling to power. The writ of the United Nations Security Councilwould have been shown to be little more than empty words, crippling thatinstitution’s future credibility to uphold global peace and security. So whileI will never minimize the costs involved in military action, I am convincedthat a failure to act in Libya would have carried a far greater price forAmerica.

Now,just as there are those who have argued against intervention in Libya, thereare others who have suggested that we broaden our military mission beyond thetask of protecting the Libyan people, and do whatever it takes to bring downQaddafi and usher in a new government.

Ofcourse, there is no question that Libya -– and the world –- would be better offwith Qaddafi out of power. I, along with many other world leaders, haveembraced that goal, and will actively pursue it through non-military means. Butbroadening our military mission to include regime change would be a mistake.

Thetask that I assigned our forces -– to protect the Libyan people from immediatedanger, and to establish a no-fly zone -– carries with it a U.N. mandate andinternational support. It’s also what the Libyan opposition asked us to do. Ifwe tried to overthrow Qaddafi by force, our coalition would splinter. We wouldlikely have to put U.S. troops on the ground to accomplish that mission, orrisk killing many civilians from the air. The dangers faced by our men andwomen in uniform would be far greater. So would the costs and our share of theresponsibility for what comes next.

Tobe blunt, we went down that road in Iraq. Thanks to the extraordinary sacrificesof our troops and the determination of our diplomats, we are hopeful aboutIraq’s future. But regime change there took eight years, thousands of Americanand Iraqi lives, and nearly a trillion dollars. That is not something we canafford to repeat in Libya.

Asthe bulk of our military effort ratchets down, what we can do -- and will do

--  issupport the aspirations of the Libyan people. We have intervened to stop amassacre, and we will work with our allies and partners to maintain the safetyof civilians. We will deny the regime arms, cut off its supplies of cash,assist the opposition, and work with other nations to hasten the day whenQaddafi leaves power. It may not happen overnight, as a badly weakened Qaddafitries desperately to hang on to power. But it should be clear to those aroundQaddafi, and to every Libyan, that history is not on Qaddafi’s side. With thetime and space that we have provided for the Libyan people, they will be ableto determine their own destiny, and that is how it should be.

Letme close by addressing what this action says about the use of America’smilitary power, and America’s broader leadership in the world, under mypresidency.

AsCommander-in-Chief, I have no greater responsibility than keeping this countrysafe. And no decision weighs on me more than when to deploy our men and womenin uniform. I’ve made it clear that I will never hesitate to use our militaryswiftly, decisively, and unilaterally when necessary to defend our people, ourhomeland, our allies and our core interests. That's why we’re going after alQaeda wherever they seek a foothold. That is why we continue to fight inAfghanistan, even as we have ended our combat mission in Iraq and removed morethan 100,000 troops from that country.

Therewill be times, though, when our safety is not directly threatened, but ourinterests and our values are. Sometimes, the course of history poses challengesthat threaten our common humanity and our common security -– responding tonatural disasters, for example; or preventing genocide and keeping the peace;ensuring regional security, and maintaining the flow of commerce. These may notbe America’s problems alone, but they are important to us. They’re problemsworth solving. And in these circumstances, we know that the United States, asthe world’s most powerful nation, will often be called upon to help.

Insuch cases, we should not be afraid to act -– but the burden of action shouldnot be America’s alone. As we have in Libya, our task is instead to mobilizethe international community for collective action. Because contrary to theclaims of some, American leadership is not simply a matter of going it aloneand bearing all of the burden ourselves. Real leadership creates the conditionsand coalitions for others to step up as well; to work with allies and partnersso that they bear their share of the burden and pay their share of the costs;and to see that the principles of justice and human dignity are upheld by all.

That’sthe kind of leadership we’ve shown in Libya. Of course, even when we act aspart of a coalition, the risks of any military action will be high. Those riskswere realized when one of our planes malfunctioned over Libya. Yet when one ofour airmen parachuted to the ground, in a country whose leader has so oftendemonized the United States –- in a region that has such a difficult historywith our country –- this American did not find enemies. Instead, he was met bypeople who embraced him. One young Libyan who came to his aid said, “We areyour friends. We are so grateful to those men who are protecting the skies.”

Thisvoice is just one of many in a region where a new generation is refusing to bedenied their rights and opportunities any longer.

Yes,this change will make the world more complicated for a time. Progress will beuneven, and change will come differently to different countries. There areplaces, like Egypt, where this change will inspire us and raise our hopes. Andthen there will be places, like Iran, where change is fiercely suppressed. Thedark forces of civil conflict and sectarian war will have to be averted, anddifficult political and economic concerns will have to be addressed.

The United States will notbe able to dictate the pace and scope of this change. Only the people of theregion can do that. But we can make a difference.

Ibelieve that this movement of change cannot be turned back, and that we muststand alongside those who believe in the same core principles that have guidedus through many storms: our opposition to violence directed at one’s ownpeople; our support for a set of universal rights, including the freedom forpeople to express themselves and choose their leaders; our support forgovernments that are ultimately responsive to the aspirations of the people.

Born,as we are, out of a revolution by those who longed to be free, we welcome thefact that history is on the move in the Middle East and North Africa, and thatyoung people are leading the way. Because wherever people long to be free, theywill find a friend in the United States. Ultimately, it is that faith -- thoseideals -- that are the true measure of American leadership.

Myfellow Americans, I know that at a time of upheaval overseas -- when the newsis filled with conflict and change -- it can be tempting to turn away from theworld. And as I’ve said before, our strength abroad is anchored in our strengthhere at home. That must always be our North Star -- the ability of our peopleto reach their potential, to make wise choices with our resources, to enlargethe prosperity that serves as a wellspring for our power, and to live thevalues that we hold so dear.

Butlet us also remember that for generations, we have done the hard work of protectingour own people, as well as millions around the globe. We have done so becausewe know that our own future is safer, our own future is brighter, if more ofmankind can live with the bright light of freedom and dignity.

 Tonight,let us give thanks for the Americans who are serving through these tryingtimes, and the coalition that is carrying our effort forward. And let us lookto the future with confidence and hope not only for our own country, but forall those yearning for freedom around the world.

 Thank you. God bless you,and may God bless the United States of America.

(Applause.) Thank you.