US should avoid unilateral military actions: Obama

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President Barack Obama said US should avoid unilateral military action overseas and follow the Libyan model where international forces have joined hands against Muammar Gaddafi regime.

“When threatened, we must respond with force — but when that force can be targeted, we need not deploy large armies overseas,” Obama said in a televised speech.

“Instead, we must rally international action, which we are doing in Libya, where we do not have a single soldier on the ground, but are supporting allies in protecting the Libyan people and giving them the chance to determine their destiny,” he said.

“We must chart a more centred course.”

Obama said the last 10 years was a difficult decade for US and now it is time to focus on nation building.

“We have learned anew the profound cost of war — a cost that has been paid by the nearly 4,500 Americans who have given their lives in Iraq, and the over 1,500 who have done so in Afghanistan — men and women who will not live to enjoy the freedom that they defended.”

He said that the country has spent over a trillion dollars on war.

“We are a nation whose strength abroad has been anchored in opportunity for our citizens at home. Over the last decade, we have spent a trillion dollars on war, at a time of rising debt and hard economic times.”

“Now, we must invest in America’s greatest resource — our people. We must unleash innovation that creates new jobs and industry, while living within our means. We must rebuild our infrastructure and find new and clean sources of energy.”