The US leader, who faces an election next year, was speaking during an extensive European trip that ranged from light-hearted photo-opportunities in Ireland, a two-day state visit to the United Kingdom, a G8 summit in France and a visit to Poland.
Foreign Secretary William Hague, who has been realistic about the extent of the US role since it handed over the lead to Nato, denied Washington is taking a “back seat” even as France’s Defence Minister Gerard Longuet said his country and Britain are preparing to step up the offensive themselves with ground attack helicopters.
President Obama emphasised the air strikes that have been continuing since the UN endorsed the action in March is not a US responsibility but “a broad-based international mandate and mission”.
President Obama – whose government is already coping with the $118 billion cost of its involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan on top of the $550 million cost of the Libyan operation to date – said while it had always been absolutely clear there would be no US or British boots on the ground that did mean there would have to be “inherent limitations”.
The cost to Britain – at a time of cutbacks in conventional defence spending and wider cuts to government budgets – is set to reach £1 billion by September.
“The opposition on the ground in Libya will have to carry out its responsibilities”, said the US President acknowledging concerns that the pace of change is slower than hoped for at the start of the campaign.
But he stressed the original goal had been to prevent mass slaughter of civilians and that had been accomplished.
He warned against what he called the “false perception that we have a whole bunch of secret super effective air assets in a warehouse somewhere, that is just not the case”.
He said it would “ultimately be a slow steady process” leading to the overthrow of the Gaddafi regime as control of Libya is determined by the Libyan people.
The President acknowledged Libyan rebels had put forward plans for an interim government including figures from the regime leading to free and fair elections.
