Speaking publicly for the first time on the uprising, Obama said the U.S. is considering acting unilaterally or in concert with allies to pressure the Libyan government.
"The suffering and bloodshed is outrageous, and it is unacceptable. So are threats and orders to shoot peaceful protesters and further punish the people of Libya," Obama said at the White House.
"These actions violate international norms and every standard of common decency. This violence must stop."
Obama has faced increasing pressure in recent days to speak out more aggressively against the brutal crackdown Gadhafi has ordered against protesters trying to end his 42-year rule of the North African country. The U.S. president's only previous remarks on Libya came in a written statement last Friday.
Some of the administration's caution has stemmed from concerns for the safety of Americans trapped in Libya. Gadhafi's government had refused to allow the U.S. to airlift Americans from the country, and a plan to remove them by ferry to Malta was complicated Wednesday by bad weather.
But administration officials have also acknowledged the U.S., which only resumed full diplomatic relations with Libya in 2008, has little of the influence with Libya that it had with Egypt's government and military.
Even as the U.S. pressed European allies with closer trade ties to exert pressure, there is considerable doubt whether Gadhafi can be reasoned with at all at this point in the conflict.
With few tools at his disposal, Obama provided no specific details about the next steps the U.S. might take. He hinted at the prospect the U.S. might impose sanctions unilaterally while also working with allies or through the United Nations. State Department officials have said one option under consideration is to freeze Libyan assets.
Former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin said the U.S. and its allies should look at enforcing a no-fly zone "so Libyan air forces cannot continue slaughtering the Libyan people."
Obama said he was preparing "the full range of options that we have" including "those actions we may take and those we will co-ordinate with our allies and partners or those that we'll carry out through multilateral institutions."
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will travel to Geneva on Monday to convene a session of the UN Human Rights Council on Libya.
"This is not simply a concern of the United States. The entire world is watching," Obama said.
The U.S. supports "the universal rights of the Libyan people," he added. "That includes the rights of peaceful assembly, free speech and the ability of the Libyan people to determine their own destiny. These are human rights. They are not negotiable . . . and they cannot be denied through violence or suppression."
Before Obama made his statement on Wednesday, Palin had sharply criticized the U.S. president for his silence on Libya.
"We should not be afraid of freedom, especially when it comes to people suffering under a brutal enemy of America."
Read it on Global News: Stop bloodshed or face consequences, Obama tells Gadhafi
