Libya must not become Iraq, Obama warns

WASHINGTON: The United States cannot afford to repeat the same costs as incurred in the Iraq war by seeking militarily to overthrow Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi, President Barack Obama said Monday.

"If we tried to overthrow Kadhafi by force, our coalition would splinter. We would likely have to put US troops on the ground, or risk killing many civilians from the air," the US president argued in an address to the nation.

"The dangers faced by our men and women in uniform would be far greater. So would the costs, and our share of the responsibility for what comes next.

"To be blunt, we went down that road in Iraq ... But regime change there took eight years, thousands of American and Iraqi lives, and nearly a trillion dollars. That is not something we can afford to repeat in Libya."