2011年2月中旬，利比亚危机爆发。对此，奥巴马政府以积极的多边外交和有限的军事干预相结合的手段达到了促使卡扎菲政府垮台的预期目标。总体来看，奥巴马政府对利比亚危机的政策谨慎而低调。这种政策的形成与奥巴马政府所奉行的“巧实力战略”理念一脉相承，与金融危机背景下美国联邦政府财政紧张及军事上的收缩战略密切相关，更是奥巴马安全团队对利比亚的事态发展适时掌控的结果。该政策对即将到来的美国大选的影响是一把双刃剑，而其对美国对外关系的影响则广泛而深远。
In dealing with Libya crisis that broke out in mid-February 2011, Obama administration combines its active multilateral diplomacy with limited military intervention and achieves its expecting goal of overthrowing Kaddafi regime. Overall, Obama administration's policy on Libya crisis is cautious and low profile. This policy is resulted from the timely control of the development of Libya crisis by Obama's security team who is guided by smart power strategy under the background of financial crisis and military shrinking policy. The impact of the policy on the coming presidential election is double-edged sword, and its influence on U.S. foreign relations is profound.
