WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. government faced mounting calls for action against Libya on Tuesday as Muammar Gaddafi’s security forces used tanks, helicopters and warplanes to unleash fresh attacks on pro-democracy demonstrators.

But U.S. options to influence events in Libya appear limited, unlike in Egypt and Bahrain where Washington was able to bring pressure to bear on long-time allies to soften their response to popular uprisings.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama spoke with Bahrain’s king on Friday night, urging restraint after the kingdom’s security forces ignored Washington’s earlier call for calm and opened fire on protesters demanding reforms.

Amid unrest across much of the Middle East, U.S. officials have voiced concern about violence in the island nation in talks with the government of Bahrain, which hosts a big U.S. military base and borders Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama spoke with Bahrain’s king on Friday night, urging restraint after the kingdom’s security forces ignored Washington’s earlier call for calm and opened fire on protesters demanding reforms.

Amid unrest across much of the Middle East, U.S. officials have voiced concern about violence in the island nation in talks with the government of Bahrain, which hosts a big U.S. military base and borders Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama called on Bahrain on Friday to exercise restraint after the kingdom’s security forces ignored Washington’s earlier call for calm and opened fire on protesters.

Amid unrest across much of the Middle East, U.S. officials have voiced concern about the violence on the island in direct talks with the government of Bahrain, which hosts a major U.S. military presence and borders Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama called on Bahrain on Friday to exercise restraint after the kingdom’s security forces ignored Washington’s earlier call for calm and opened fire on protesters.

Amid unrest across much of the Middle East, U.S. officials have voiced concern about the violence on the island in direct talks with the government of Bahrain, which hosts a major U.S. military presence and borders Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter.

By Ross Colvin

MANITOWOC, Wisc. (Reuters) – President Barack Obama pressed his case on Wednesday for investment to grow the U.S. economy out of its budget woes, a job made tougher by a forecast that the deficit will surge 40 percent this year.

The Congressional Budget Office forecast the U.S. deficit would hit $1.48 trillion this year and the Federal Reserve was downbeat on the prospects for job creation.

By Ross Colvin

MANITOWOC, Wisc. (Reuters) – President Barack Obama on Wednesday took to America’s heartland his two-pronged agenda of investing and innovating to create U.S. jobs and spur economic growth while reining in spending, a recipe Republicans say is unworkable.

Underlining the enormity of the task, the Congressional Budget Office — the day after Obama’s televised State of the Union address — said the U.S. deficit will reach $1.48 trillion this year, 40 percent higher than its previous forecast, due to the extension of tax cuts first put in place under former President George W. Bush.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States suggested on Thursday the sentencing of a former Russian tycoon to six more years in prison was an abuse of justice, and a senior U.S. official said it may impede Russia’s entry into the World Trade Organization.

Despite the harsh U.S. words, analysts said the treatment of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his co-defendant Platon Lebedev was unlikely to undercut the White House effort to work with the Kremlin where it can on strategic and security issues.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama offered Americans an optimistic assessment of the Afghanistan war on Thursday, even as U.S. spy agencies and aid groups express doubts about the progress amid worsening violence.

Obama, under pressure to show results after criticizing his predecessor George W. Bush for neglecting the war, said the United States was on track to start pulling out troops next July as planned. He offered no details on the pace of those withdrawals.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – When President Barack Obama delivers the results of his Afghan war review on Thursday, he will recommit to a strategy that threatens to estrange him even further from a large part of his political base.

They are already angry with him over a series of big legislative and public policy issues, a losing election campaign season and a tax deal he has brokered with rival Republicans.