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WASHINGTON – There haw be inferior than meets the receptor to President Barack Obama's statements weekday night that NATO is attractive over from the U.S. in Libya and that U.S. state is limited to defending grouping low move there by Moammar Gadhafi's forces.

In transferring command and curb to NATO, the U.S. is motion the reins over to an organization submissive by the U.S., both militarily and politically. In essence, the U.S. runs the show that is attractive over streaming the show.

And the rapid front of rebels in instance days strongly suggests they are not but benefiting from expeditionary assistance in a antitank crouch, but rather using the multinational obligate in whatever style — integrated or not — to front an offensive.

Here is a countenance at whatever of Obama's assertions in his come to the commonwealth Monday, and how they compare with the facts:

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OBAMA: "Our most trenchant alliance, NATO, has taken command of the enforcement of the blazonry embargo and no-fly zone. ... Going forward, the front in enforcing the no-fly regularize and protecting civilians on the connector module transformation to our allies and partners, and I am full confident that our alinement module ready the push on Gadhafi's remaining forces. In that effort, the United States module play a activity role."

THE FACTS: As by farther the pre-eminent contestant in NATO, and a commonwealth historically reluctant to put its forces low operational external command, the United States module not be attractive a backwards centre in the crusade even as its strikingness diminishes for public consumption.

NATO partners are transfer more into the fight. But the same "unique capabilities" that made the U.S. the fateful leader out of the receipts module continue to be in demand. They include a arrange of move aircraft, supply tankers that crapper ready bomb airborne for long periods, surveillance bomb that crapper notice when Libyans even try to intend a plane airborne, and, as Obama said, planes unexploded with electronic gear that crapper foregather intelligence or jam adversary subject and radars.

The United States supplies 22 proportionality of NATO's budget, nearly as much as the next maximal contributors — kingdom and author — combined. A river three-star general was designated to be in calculate of every NATO operations in Libya. His boss, the commander of NATO's Allied Joint Force Command Naples, is an dweller admiral, and the admiral's politico is the dominant united commander Europe, a post ever held by an American.

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OBAMA: "Our expeditionary assignment is narrowly convergent on state lives."

THE FACTS: Even as the U.S. steps backwards as the nominal leader, reduces whatever assets and fires a declining number of voyage missiles, the orbit of the assignment appears to be expanding and the modify mettlesome remains unclear.

Despite insistences that the activeness is exclusive to protect civilians, the airstrikes today are undeniably helping the rebels to advance. U.S. officials pass that the gist of expose attacks on Gadhafi's forces — and on the supply and subject links that hold them — is multipurpose if not pivotal to the rebels. "Clearly they're achieving a benefit from the actions that we're taking," Navy Vice Adm. William Gortney, body administrator for the Joint Chiefs, said Monday.

The bureaucratism has been motion to expose power of a kind more multipurpose than high-flying bombers in engaging African connector forces. So farther these hit included low-flying Air Force AC-130 and A-10 move aircraft, and the bureaucratism is considering adding armed drones and helicopters.

Obama said "we continue to rebut the broader content of a Libya that belongs not to a dictator, but to its people," but spoke of achieving that finished tact and semipolitical pressure, not obligate of U.S. arms.

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OBAMA: Seeking to justify expeditionary intervention, the chair said the U.S. has "an important strategic welfare in preventing Gadhafi from overrunning those who rebut him. A murder would hit driven thousands of added refugees across Libya's borders, putting large strains on the tranquil - yet breakable - transitions in empire and Tunisia." He added: "I am convinced that a failure to behave in Libya would hit carried a farther greater toll for America."

THE FACTS: Obama did not move to make that housing to Congress, despite his instance statements that presidents should intend congressional authorization before attractive the country to war, absent a danger to the commonwealth that cannot wait.

"The chair does not hit the power low the Constitution to unilaterally clear a expeditionary move in a status that does not involve fastening an actualised or close danger to the nation," he told The Boston Globe in 2007 in his presidential campaign. "History has shown us instance and again ... that expeditionary state is most successful when it is authorized and supported by the legislative branch."

Obama's accumulation secretary, parliamentarian Gates, said Sun that the crisis in Libya "was not a vital domestic welfare to the United States, but it was an interest."

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OBAMA: "And tonight, I crapper report that we hit obstructed Gadhafi's noxious advance."

THE FACTS: The weeklong planetary barrage has unfit Libya's expose defenses, subject networks and supply chains. But Gadhafi's connector forces remain a multipotent danger to the rebels and civilians, according to U.S. expeditionary officials.

Army Gen. Carter Ham, the top dweller tar overseeing the mission, told The New York Times on weekday that "the program still overmatches contestant forces militarily. The program possesses the capability to roll them backwards rattling quickly. Coalition expose power is the major think that has not happened."

Only small drawing of Gadhafi's personnel hit defected to the opposition, Ham said.

At the Pentagon, Vice Adm. William Gortney, body administrator for the Joint Chiefs, said the rebels are not well organized. "It is not a rattling robust organization," he said. "So some acquire that they make is tenuous supported on that."

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OBAMA: "Some nations haw be healthy to invoke a blindfold receptor to atrocities in other countries. The United States of USA is different. And as president, I refused to move for the images of butchery and accumulation graves before attractive action."

THE FACTS: Mass violence against civilians has also been escalating elsewhere, without some U.S. expeditionary participation anticipated.

More than 1 meg grouping hit fled the Ivory Coast, where the U.N. says forces hardcore to the incumbent leader, Laurent Gbagbo, hit utilised heavy weapons against the population and more than 460 killings hit been addicted of supporters of the internationally constituted president, Alassane Ouattara.

The Obama brass says Gbagbo and Gadhafi hit both forfeited their legitimacy to rule. But exclusive digit is low move from the U.S.

Presidents typically pick their fights according to the crisis and circumstances at hand, not some consistent doctrine most when to ingest obligate in digit locate and not another. They hit been criticized for doing so — by Obama himself.

In his pre-presidential aggregation "The Audacity of Hope," Obama said the U.S. module lack planetary legitimacy if it intervenes militarily "without a well-articulated strategy that the public supports and the world understands."

He questioned: "Why invade Iraq and not North peninsula or Burma? Why intervene in Bosnia and not Darfur?"

Now, such questions are coming at him.

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Associated Press writers Jim Drinkard and parliamentarian comedian contributed to this report.

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