Boat packed with U.S. citizens may not leave until FridayPresident Obama was under intense pressure today to evacuate thousands of Americans still stranded in Libya.
Hundreds of U.S. citizens, crammed aboard a ferry for a second day, may not be able to leave the troubled country until Friday at the earliest, officials confirmed today.
And with Libyan authorities still refusing to let American chartered aircraft land in Libya, there are growing calls for the U.S. military to join the evacuation effort.
The President has been under intense criticism for his silence on bloodshed in Libya, with speculation that Colonel Gaddafi has intimidated the White House into silence by blocking the evacuation of U.S. citizens.
With dozens of other countries managing to evacuate their citizens, critics have demanded the President take a firmer stance to get U.S. ex pats out.
Yesterday, State Department official P.J. Crowley said Libyan authorities had refused the U.S. permission to land any chartered aircraft.
'We had requested permission to bring charter aircraft into Tripoli.
'That permission was not granted yesterday [Tuesday].
'We still would like to have permission to bring charters in for any additional Americans who want to leave.'
He added: 'Citizens are safe on board. It will leave when the weather permits.'
A spokesman for the American Embassy added that provisions are aboard the ferry, one of two now in Libya, that can evacuate a total of 1,000 people.
Yesterday President Obama condemned Mr Gaddafi's violent crackdown as 'outrageous ... and unacceptable', as the violent clashes spread throughout the North African country.
The US leader said he was studying a 'full range of options' to pressure the regime to stop attacks against Libyans.
Mr Obama also said he was dispatching Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Geneva for international talks aimed at stopping the violence.
'We strongly condemn the use of violence in Libya,' he added.
'The suffering and bloodshed is outrageous, and it is unacceptable. So are threats and orders to shoot peaceful protesters and further punish the people of Libya.'
Poster Comment:
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