Kerry: Plan for no-fly zone over Libya

WASHINGTON - The United States and its allies should plan for a no-fly zone over Libya and consider bombing the country's airports and runways, but they should take no action unless there is an international agreement, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said yesterday.

The chairman, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), and other lawmakers continued a drumbeat for military action in Libya, in the face of reluctance from White House and Pentagon officials, who argue that taking out Libya's air defenses would be tantamount to going to war.

"Lots of people throw around phrases of 'no-fly zone' and they talk about it as though it's just a game, a video game or something," White House chief of staff William Daley said. "Some people who throw that line out have no idea what they're talking about."

President Barack Obama has said that all options are on the table but that any military action must be an international effort. Pentagon chief Robert Gates cautioned last week that an attack on Libya could drag the U.S. military into another conflict, even as nearly 150,000 troops continue to battle in Afghanistan and Iraq.

British Defense Minister Liam Fox said Sunday that any talks about establishing a no-fly zone over Libya are at "the early stage of contingency planning." Fox told BBC radio that more details will be discussed by NATO military leaders at a meeting in Brussels later this week. Gates is scheduled to attend that meeting.

The U.S. debate continued as the North African nation appeared to be sliding toward civil war, with Moammar Gadhafi's forces in helicopters and on the ground firing on rebel fighters advancing on the capital.

The U.S. has moved military forces closer to Libyan shores, but they are mainly providing humanitarian and evacuation support. The UN and the United States have imposed an arms embargo on Libya and frozen billions in the country's foreign assets.

Kerry said that taking out runways and airports could be an effective tactic short of what Gates described, and he said a no-fly zone would not step over the line into military intervention. He added, however, that moving against Libyan air defenses should only be done if Gadhafi were to use his air force as a means of terror or to massacre civilians.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said implementing a no-fly zone would send a signal "that the president is serious when he says we need for Gadhafi to go."