Beyond the current military efforts in Libya to save lives, the international coalition must work to provide humanitarian assistance, pressure and isolate the Qadhafi regime and help Libyans achieve political change, says Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

"We meet now in London at a turning point," Clinton said March 29, 2011 at an international conference on Libya hosted by British Prime Minister David Cameron.

"We have prevented a potential massacre, established a no-fly zone, stopped an advancing army, added more partners to this coalition and transferred command of the military effort to NATO," Clinton said.

The secretary told diplomats from more than 40 nations and representatives from the Libyan opposition that military power alone will not force Muammar Qadhafi out after 42 years of nearly unchecked political power. She called on the international community to keep the pressure on and deepen the isolation of the Qadhafi regime.

"This includes a unified front of political and diplomatic pressure that makes clear to Qadhafi he must go, that sends a strong message of accountability and that sharpens the choice for those around him," she added.

The diplomats agreed to form a Libyan Contact Group that will meet regularly to coordinate the response to the international crisis. The group's first meeting will be held in Qatar, British Foreign Secretary William Hague told reporters after the conference.

While the international community must not attempt to impose its will on the Libyan people, the world must stand with them as they determine their own political destiny, Clinton said.

During the one-day conference, Clinton also met on the sidelines with Mahmoud Jibril, a representative of the Libyan Transitional National Council, a group that opposes the Qadhafi regime, to discuss the next steps in the opposition's development. The conference comes a day after President Obama addressed the American people on why the United States joined the international coalition of European and Arab nations that launched missiles and airstrikes against the Libyan army and air force, which were attacking Libyan civilians opposed to the Qadhafi regime.

Obama said during the nationally televised address from the Washington-based National Defense University that it was not in the U.S. national interest to let the Libyan people suffer a massacre at the hands of Qadhafi because the consequences would have reverberated across the Middle East and North Africa and "stained the conscience of the world."

An international coalition that includes many nations from NATO, along with Qatar and the United Arab Emirates from the region, launched military strikes only after the U.N. Security Council voted to authorize a no-fly zone and an arms embargo. The Security Council voted 10–0 with five abstentions March 17 to authorize the use of all means necessary to stop the military forces of the Libyan leader from attacking the Libyan people. Security Council Resolution 1973 also includes a demand for an immediate cease-fire and a no-fly zone over Libya, among other measures.
The resolution came after the Arab League voted March 12 for a no-fly zone over Libya to protect human lives.

(This is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://www.america.gov)