Obama executive order declares Gadhafi, unrest in Libya a threat

President Obama declared by executive order Friday night that Libyan
leader Moammar Gadhafi and the country’s unrest present a threat to the
U.S.

Obama ordered sanctions on Gadhafi that include the freezing of all
his assets in the U.S. or in American financial institutions abroad. Gadhafi’s children and Libyan senior political officials are included in
the sanctions.

{mosads}White House press secretary Jay Carney said earlier Friday that the
sanctions are a “first step,” and the president will consider other
options as the situation requires. Carney also said Obama is working
with European leaders and the UN to pursue multilateral sanctions.

In his order, Obama said that the unrest in Libya and violence
employed by Gadhafi against his own people “have caused a deterioration
in the security of Libya and pose a serious risk to its stability,
thereby constituting an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national
security and foreign policy of the United States, and I hereby declare a
national emergency to deal with that threat.”

In a statement accompanying the release of the executive order,
Obama said that the Libyan government’s “continued violation of human
rights, brutalization of its people and outrageous threats have rightly
drawn the strong and broad condemnation of the international community.”

“By any measure, Muammar el-Qaddafi’s government has violated
international norms and common decency and must be held accountable,”
Obama said. “These sanctions therefore target the Qaddafi government,
while protecting the assets that belong to the people of Libya.”

Obama also declared in the statement that the U.S. stands squarely on the side of the Libyan protesters.

“We
will stand steadfastly with the Libyan people in their demand for
universal rights, and a government that is responsive to their
aspirations,” the president said. “Their human dignity cannot be
denied.”

Obama informed House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) by letter that he had
issued the executive order under the authority of the International
Emergency Economic Powers Act.

The president’s letter informed
Boehner that Obama has determined that Gadhafi is a threat, and “the
order declares a national emergency to deal with this threat.”