By Steve Kimble
In his weekly radio address today, President Barack Obama tried to justify his decision to send U.S. warplanes into Libya a week ago, saying that it was done to avert a "humanitarian catastrophe" and a "blood bath." The president however, stressed that that the U.S. is not drawn into a wider war in the African nation.

"The United States should not -- and cannot -- intervene every time there's a crisis somewhere in the world," the president said in his Saturday radio address. "But I firmly believe that when innocent people are being brutalized, when someone like [Moammar] Kadafii threats a blood bath that could destabilize an entire region, and when the international community is prepared to come together to save many thousands of lives, then it's in our national interest to act. And it's our responsibility. This is one of those times."

Obama stressed that the U.S. involvement is limited. "We are not putting any ground forces into Libya," he said. "This is now a broad, international effort. Our allies and partners are enforcing the no-fly zone over Libya and the arms embargo at sea."

The president is facing flak for giving the permission to carry on the attack without consulting Congress in advance. Obama however, said that the decision was an emergency response to save lives and not a military response to depose Libyan leader Moamar Kadafi from power. "We're succeeding in our mission," he said. "So make no mistake, because we acted quickly, a humanitarian catastrophe has been avoided and the lives of countless civilians -- innocent men, women and children -- have been saved," the president said.