"The suffering and bloodshed is outrageous and it is unacceptable," Obama said at the White House late Wednesday.

“So are orders to shoot peaceful protesters and to punish the people of Libya,” he added.

The president said he is sending Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Europe to Geneva for international talks Monday to discuss what actions can be taken to stop the violence.

But Obama did not call for a change in Libya's autocratic government or announce specific sanctions that the United States would support to punish the country for actions that he said “violate international norms and every standard of common decency.”

Obama said he was studying a “full range of options” to pressure Qaddafi's regime to halt attacks against Libyans as violent clashes spread throughout the North African country, including sanctions the US would initiate with its allies. The European Union is also considering sanctions.

The United States strongly supports the universal rights of Libyans and all people to enjoy the freedoms of peaceful assembly, free speech and the ability to determine their own destiny, Obama said. “These are human rights. They are not negotiable. They must be respected in every country and they cannot be denied through violence or suppression,” Obama said.

Obama’s comments were his first since the uprising erupted more than a week ago in the North African nation and a day after Qaddafi called on his supporters to take back the streets of the Libyan capital while claiming he had not ordered any of the earlier crackdowns.

The Washington Post noted on Thursday that the White House seems oddly passive in the Libyan crisis. By this time in the crisis timeline with Egypt, it noted, Obama had already demanded a “transition” in governance from the nominal US ally, Hosni Mubarak.

The explanation to this may be that the president said it was imperative for the world speak “with one voice” to condemn the suppression of peaceful demonstrators in Libya and to support their universal rights.

Obama joined the ranks of the international community condemning Qaddafi, who has become almost entirely isolated, as EU leaders called for sanctions and the African Union condemned his actions.

His remarks came as the international community seemed to find its voice in pressuring the Libyan leader to step down.

French Defense Minister Alain Juppé told reporters Thursday that he hoped Qaddafi’s rule was approaching its end.

And British Foreign Secretary William Hague told BBC Radio that he urged the international community Thursday to exert pressure on Gaddafi as the Libyan leader's hold on power within his country appeared to be slipping. Hague stated that the “odds are stacked heavily against him.”

US stocks wavered between small gains and losses Thursday as investors continued to fret over the price of oil and turmoil in Libya, but US employment data and a number of US companies reported that earnings topped expectations.