WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. warships sailed toward Libya on Tuesday as Washington warned that the oil-producing North African country could descend into chaos unless embattled leader Muammar Gaddafi relinquished power.

The repositioning of U.S. ships and aircraft closer to Libya is widely seen as a symbolic show of force since neither the United States nor its NATO allies have shown any appetite for direct military intervention in the turmoil that has seen Gaddafi lose control of large swaths of his country.

The White House said the ships were being redeployed in preparation for possible humanitarian efforts. But it stressed it “was not taking any options off the table,” diplomatic language that signals military action is still a possibility.

But beyond flexing military muscle and freezing a record $30 billion in Libyan assets, Washington has limited influence on events inside Libya. Republican lawmakers and others have pressed President Barack Obama to do more militarily, but they have focused mainly on imposing a “no-fly” zone.

The USS Barry, a destroyer, moved through the Suez Canal on Monday and is now in the southwestern Mediterranean. Two amphibious assault ships, the USS Kearsarge, which can carry 2,000 Marines, and the USS Ponce, are in the Red Sea and now heading to the canal.

“We are going to keep the pressure on Gaddafi until he steps down and allows the people of Libya to express themselves freely and determine their own future,” Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, told ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

FEARS OVER OIL PRICES

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States began moving warships and aircraft closer to Libya on Monday and froze $30 billion in Libyan assets, ramping up pressure on leader Muammar Gaddafi after calling on him to step down.

The ships could be used for humanitarian and rescue missions, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in Geneva, where she told the U.N. Human Rights Council that Gaddafi was using “mercenaries and thugs” to suppress a popular uprising.

“There is not any pending military action involving U.S. naval vessels,” she said after the Pentagon announced it was moving warships and air force units closer to Libya.

U.S. oil prices, which have risen due to the turmoil in the oil-producing North African country and unrest elsewhere in the region, did not respond to the news, trading down 80 cents at $97 a barrel.

“We are moving ships closer to Libya in case they are needed,” said Colonel David Lapan, a Pentagon spokesman. Aircraft were also being moved nearer, he said.

The Obama administration has said military action is one option it is looking at, although many analysts say the United States is highly unlikely to launch a ground invasion or air strikes because of the volatile situation on the ground.

The Pentagon gave no details of the forces being moved, but its announcement was likely aimed at sending a signal to Gaddafi and his government that the United States was matching its sharper rhetoric of recent days with action.

WASHINGTON, Feb 25 (Reuters) – The United States announced on Friday it would soon impose sanctions on Libya and bluntly said the legitimacy of longtime Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi had been “reduced to zero.”

White House spokesman Jay Carney did not specify what the measures were or when they would be imposed but said the sanctions would be coordinated with European allies.

With the Libyan crisis also being taken up at the United Nations, European Union governments agreed on the idea of imposing an arms embargo, asset freezes and a travel ban on the oil-producing North African nation, with diplomats saying a formal decision would be taken early next week. [ID:nLDE71O1YH]

Washington announced the sanctions move — along with the closing of its embassy and withdrawal of U.S. diplomats – after a chartered ferry and a plane carrying Americans and other evacuees left Libya earlier on Friday.

The Obama administration had been criticized for its relatively restrained response so far to Gaddafi’s bloody crackdown on an uprising against his four-decade rule.

But U.S. officials said fears for the safety of the Americans had tempered Washington’s response to the turmoil.

“(Gaddafi) is overseeing the brutal treatment of his people … and his legitimacy has been reduced to zero in the eyes of his people,” Carney said after Libyan security forces shot protesters in the streets of Tripoli on Friday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States announced on Friday it was imposing sanctions on Libya and bluntly said the legitimacy of its longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi had been “reduced to zero.”

White House spokesman Jay Carney did not specify what the restrictive measures were or when they would be imposed but said the sanctions would be coordinated with European allies.

The Obama administration said earlier this week it was studying a wide range of options, including the freezing of assets, a travel ban on members of Gaddafi’s government, a “no-fly” zone over Libya and military action.

Washington announced the sanctions move after a chartered ferry and a plane carrying Americans and other evacuees left the Libyan capital Tripoli earlier on Friday.

The Obama administration had been criticized for its relatively restrained response so far to Gaddafi’s crackdown on opponents, but U.S. officials said fears for the safety of the Americans had tempered Washington’s response to the turmoil.

“(Gaddafi) is overseeing the brutal treatment of his people. … And his legitimacy has been reduced to zero in the eyes of his people,” Carney said, after Libyan security forces shot dead protesters Tripoli on Friday.

“We are initiating a series of steps at the unilateral level and multilateral level to pressure the regime in Libya to stop killing its own people,” he said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A ferry carrying hundreds of Americans and other evacuees finally sailed from Libya on Friday, removing what U.S. officials feared could be used as a bargaining chip by an embattled Muammar Gaddafi.

President Barack Obama’s administration has been criticized for its relatively restrained response to the Libyan leader’s bloody crackdown on protesters, but U.S. officials say the main concern has been the safety of Americans in the oil-producing North African country.

Obama talked by phone with the leaders of Britain, France and Italy on Thursday on immediate steps to end the crisis, as Washington kept all options open, including sanctions and military action.

The White House said on Friday that Obama had talked to Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan about the situation in Libya, including options to ensure their citizens’ safety and to hold Libya’s government accountable for its actions.

There may be more clarity on Washington’s position when the U.N. Security Council meets in New York later on Friday to discuss a French-British draft proposal for an arms embargo, financial sanctions and a request to the International Criminal Court to indict Libyan leaders for crimes against humanity.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will travel to Geneva for a meeting on Monday of the U.N. Human Rights Council, where she is expected to push for condemnation of Gaddafi’s attempts to suppress a revolt against his four-decade rule.

The chartered ferry carrying more than 300 passengers, half of them U.S. citizens, sailed for the Mediterranean island of Malta at 6:37 a.m. EST on a journey expected to last about eight hours, the State Department said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A ferry carrying hundreds of Americans that has become central to Washington’s response to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s bloody crackdown on opponents remained trapped in Tripoli on Thursday.

U.S. officials say they have tempered their response to the violence in Libya for fear that tougher language could invite retaliation against U.S. citizens in the North African country. High winds and rough seas have stalled the ferry’s departure.

Senior State Department official Bill Burns has spoken twice to Libyan Foreign Minister Musa Kusa and thanked him for his government’s help in evacuating U.S. citizens, spokesman P.J. Crowley said, underscoring Washington’s delicate balancing act as it tries to get its citizens out of harms way.

The ferry, which has 285 passengers, may depart for the Mediterranean island of Malta later on Thursday if the weather permits, Crowley said.

The passengers include 167 U.S. citizens and 118 people of other nationalities. They have been on board the vessel for more than 24 hours while soldiers loyal to Gaddafi crack down on opponents in the streets outside the port.

“I’m sure the conditions are difficult for anyone who’s on the ship for this long and it hasn’t moved,” Crowley said.

U.S. security personnel were on board, he said, without identifying who they were or whether they were armed. They did not include Marines, who are often posted at U.S. embassies.

WASHINGTON, Feb 23 (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday condemned the “unacceptable” bloodshed in Libya and said he would work with other countries to hold Muammar Gaddafi’s government accountable.

In his first public comments on Gaddafi’s efforts to crush a popular revolt that erupted alongside uprisings elsewhere in the region, Obama said his administration was looking at “the full range of options that we have to respond to this crisis.”

“The suffering and bloodshed is outrageous and it is unacceptable,” he said. “This violence must stop.”

While Obama did not say what actions Washington might take against the oil-producing North African country, U.S. officials said earlier that sanctions and freezing assets, including those belonging to Gaddafi, were possible.

Still, analysts say U.S. options to influence events in Libya are limited, unlike in Egypt and Bahrain where Washington was able to bring pressure as a long-time ally and benefactor.

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Main story on Libya [ID:nLDE71L2LE]

WASHINGTON, Feb 23 (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday condemned the “unacceptable” bloodshed in Libya and said he would work with other countries to hold Muammar Gaddafi’s government accountable.

In his first public comments on Gaddafi’s efforts to crush a popular revolt that erupted alongside uprisings elsewhere in the region, Obama said his administration was looking at “the full range of options that we have to respond to this crisis.”

“The suffering and bloodshed is outrageous and it is unacceptable,” he said. “This violence must stop.”

While Obama did not say what actions Washington might take against the oil-producing North African country, U.S. officials said earlier that sanctions and freezing assets, including those belonging to Gaddafi, were possible.

Still, analysts say U.S. options to influence events in Libya are limited, unlike in Egypt and Bahrain where Washington was able to bring pressure as a long-time ally and benefactor.

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Main story on Libya [ID:nLDE71L2LE]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Pressure mounted on the White House on Tuesday to intervene to stop Muammar Gaddafi’s bloody crackdown on democracy protests as a lawmaker close to President Barack Obama urged oil firms to halt work in Libya.

The United States faced calls to impose sanctions but also to take direct action such as bombing Libyan airfields and imposing no-fly zones — military steps that most analysts consider unlikely. Some critics questioned Obama’s silence on the violence in which hundreds of Libyans have died.

U.S. officials called for an end to the violence but seemed to rule out any unilateral action, stressing the United States was working with other countries on a way forward.

Senator John Kerry, the influential chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, urged the White House to consider reimposing tough sanctions on Libya.

“World leaders must together put Colonel Gaddafi on notice that his cowardly actions will have consequences,” Kerry said.

The White House said it was studying Kerry’s proposal to reimpose sanctions that were lifted by the Bush administration but, for now, was focused on ending the bloodshed, which sent U.S. oil prices to near 2-1/2-year highs.

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Kerry’s Republican counterpart in the House of Representatives, said the United States and others “should impose economic sanctions, including freezing assets of the regime and imposing a ban on travel.”

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.

“The U.S. has relatively little leverage in Libya. There are certainly U.S. interests but they are more global interests — and that is mostly oil,” said Daniel Byman of the Brookings Institution think tank in Washington.

“Libya was an adversary of the United States for most of Gaddafi’s rule and, while there has been a rapprochement, they have never been terribly close.”

U.S. foreign aid to Libya was less than $1 million in 2010, a congressional aide said, although trade has flourished since Washington began to lift sanctions in 2004. Last year, U.S. exports to Libya were $665 million, while imports were $2.12 billion.

Ali Aujali, who has resigned as Libya’s envoy to the United States, urged Washington to raise its “voice very strongly.”

“Please, please, help the Libyan people. Help them. They are burning,” Aujali said on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”