U.S. respects Syrian opposition's position on no foreign military intervention

The United States has not changed its position on military force to be used in Syria, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said on Monday, adding the U.S. respects the Syrian opposition's opposition to foreign military intervention in their country. "I think our position on this hasn't changed," Nuland said in response to a question about possible military intervention in Syria. "As we have said, the vast majority of the Syrian opposition continues to speak in favor of peaceful, non-violent protest and against foreign intervention of any kind, and particularly foreign military intervention, into the situation in Syria," she told reporters at a regular news briefing. "And we respect that." The possibility of military intervention arises after former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was killed in his hometown Sirte, and the Libyan National Transitional Council officially announced the liberation of Libya on Sunday, making NATO preliminarily decide to end its mission in the North African nation on Oct. 31. "Now that military operations in Libya are ending, there will be renewed focus on what practical military operations might be considered to protect civilian lives in Syria,'' U.S. Senator John McCain said on Sunday in Jordan. In a sign of escalation of tension between them, the U.S. and Syria on Monday both withdrew their ambassadors from each other's capital for consultations. More than 3,000 people including army and security members have been killed in Syria as the Arab nation has been plagued by unrest since mid-March when protests erupted against President Bashar Assad's government. The U.S. and its European allies have slapped sets of sanctions on senior Syrian officials and entities, and called on Assad to step down.