Two U.S. warships have moved through the Suez Canal into the Mediterranean Sea toward Libya under orders from U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. In Washington, D.C., U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the United States has not ruled out a military intervention.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: “And we are taking no options off the table, so long as the Libyan government continues to turn its guns on its own people. The entire region is changing, and a strong and strategic American response is essential. In the years ahead, Libya could become a peaceful democracy, or it could face protracted civil war, or it could descend into chaos. The stakes are high.”