Obama on Libya: 'We have a responsibility to act'

Vigorously defending the first war launched on his watch, President Barack Obama declared that the United States intervened in Libya to prevent a slaughter of civilians that would have stained the world's conscience. Yet he ruled out targeting Muammar Gaddafi, warning that trying to oust the Libyan leader militarily would be a mistake as costly as the war in Iraq.

Obama announced that NATO would take command over the entire Libya operation on Wednesday, keeping his pledge to get the US out of the lead fast - but offering no estimate on when the conflict might end and no details about its costs despite demands for those answers from lawmakers. (AP)