Getting Tough

Obama Pushes for Libya Strikes

Wants U.N. to take out tanks, artillery.

It may be too late for a no-fly zone, but could more aggressive measures save Libyan rebels? President Obama wants the U.N. to authorize military strikes against Libya that would target Muammar Gaddafi’s tanks and heavy artillery. The U.S. is backing a Security Council resolution that would allow for a broad range of options, although the U.S. still insists any military action must be carried out by an international coalition that includes Libya’s Arab neighbors. “The turning point was really the Arab League statement on Saturday,” Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Wednesday. “That was an extraordinary statement in which the Arab League asked for Security Council action against one of its own members.” Clinton said she hopes for a U.N. vote Thursday.