overnight, we were near the libyan-egyptian border and heard gunfire as locals found out about the no-fly zone established by the u.n. and began shooting weapons into the air but as you said the libyan government sort of giving mixed messages at this point, they did declare they would cooperate with the u.n. resolution and declared an immediate cease-fire, saying all military operations would stop. but, a few hours earlier, muammar qaddafi s son was talking tough saying they were not afraid of the u.n. move and the army would surround us in benghazi and anti-terror forces would be sent into disarm the rebels. that has not happened but before libya announced the cease-fire, as you said, they unleashed a barrage of artillery and tank fire on misrata in the west and hit home in the city center and residents called it the heaviest bombardment yet and reuters reports 25 were killed today, 25 killed today alone of the shelling this morning, before
sufficient, stop the killing which is the purpose of the resolution. maybe not. it s qaddafi in tanks trying to run tail. so again, now what happens if you have a blackhawk down? what happens if you have a couple blackhawk downs you can t leave those guys there, you have to go in and rescue them. all these things are considerations you want to think about up front. everybody is all in favor of going in and saving lives, we have to have a really clear objective, what are we going to achieve? do we have the resources to achieve it. when do we know that we achieve it. megyn: we also care about american lives. you have to do that balancing act, whether it s worth it and where else we ll have to go if we go here. the president running late but i think you ve framed the issues for us very well. we ll hear the president speak to them. it will be meaningful to know what we need to know as american citizens. stick around i d like to get your thoughts after the
afghanistan and winding down our activities in iraq. that decision is only made more difficult. but the united states of america will not stand idly by in the face of actions that undermine global peace and security. so i ve taken this decision with the confidence that action is necessary, and that we will be not be acting alone. our goal is focused, our cause is just, and our coalition is strong. thank you very much. megyn: the president of the united states confirming the role that is expected for the united states when it comes to tamping down the violence in libya talking about how qaddafi has a choice. he will enforce the ceasefire, he will stop his troops from advancing, he will allow humanitarian assistance to be brought in and those terms are not negotiable. if he does not obey the
qaddafi announced the cease-fire and we are waiting on now, is more word on who will carry out the no-fly zone. we know that france offered to lead the effort, we know britain already is sending fighter jets to the region and italy offered the use of its military base, to support the no-fly zone. what is not clear yet is when and if these jets will then begin flying into this country to take out qaddafi s strategic locations. anti-aircraft installations, radar sites, possibly military installations, so we re still waiting to see if that happens, and still waiting to see if qaddafi stays true to his word and continues the cease-fire, martha. martha: will be interesting to see if that he cease-fire announcement has an impact on what we heard this morning in the states, possibly imminent flights in there by the british, and by the french, rick leventhal is in benghazi, i should point out, not the border of libya and egypt, he moved over to the benghazi region of libya, a hotbed of what is
well-defined goal, specifically the protection of civilians in libya. in the coming weeks we will continue to help the libyan people with humanitarian and economic assistance so that they can fulfill their aspirations peacefully. the united states did not seek this outcome. our decisions have been driven by muammar al-qaddafi refusal to respect the rights of his people and the potential for mass murder of innocent civilians. it is not an action we will pursue alone. indeed our british and french allies and members of the arab league have already committed to take a leadership role in the enforcement of this resolution, just as they were instrumental in pursuing it. we are coordinating closely with them. and this is precisely how the international community should work as more nations bare both the responsibility and the cost