President Obama on Moammar Gadhafi': 'The Noose Is Tightening'

March 29, 2011 -- President Obama believes that Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi's inner circle is realizing that the "noose is tightening, that their days are numbered."

The president spoke with ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer one day after addressing the nation on his reason for joining with NATO and other allies in imposing a no-fly zone over Libya and suggested that it is pressuring Gadhafi into stepping down.

"I think what we're seeing is that the circle around Gadhafi understands that the noose is tightening, that their days are probably numbered, and they are going to have to think through what their next steps are," the president said.

The president said there are signals Gadhafi and his allies can give to indicate they are ready to go but until that point, the U.S. and its international allies will continue to apply pressure.

"They're going to have to think through what their next steps are. But as I have been clear throughout, there are certain things that are non-negotiable," he said. "He's got to pull his troops out of places like Mistrata?he's got to stand down with respect to his troops."Watch Diane Sawyer's interview with President Obama tonight on World News at 6:30pm E.T.

The president declined to rule out sending arms to the Libyan rebels, but said if his administration wanted to get them into the country, it could.

"We're looking at all our options at this point," he said. "We are examining all options to support the opposition."

Obama's speech Monday night has advanced a debate over what circumstances the president may take similar actions in other countries with repressive regimes.

But Obama said today that Libya was a "unique situation" and the world should not expect the United States to intervene in every humanitarian crisis.

"We'll examine how we can make a difference, not just through military tools, but also through diplomatic and political tools, understanding that there's significant costs and risks involved in that, and understanding that our military is already very overstretched," he told Sawyer.

Obama said his policy of intervening in Libya does not extend to Syria where protesters have been me with violence and that he tried to make their clear in his address to the nation Monday night.

"Part of the point that I tried to make last night is that we had a moment in time where we did have this international mandate, including from Arab countries," he said. "We had a brutal dictator who had shown himself willing to kill thousands of people in the past-- and to show no mercy."