The Hill News

Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) called on President Obama to specify the cost of U.S. involvement in a multinational effort to enforce a United Nations no-fly resolution in Libya.

In a statement, Franken said that he supported Obama's decisions on Libya so far, but said the president should specify how much the no-fly zone and airstrikes would cost.

"While I personally believe that Qaddafi should go, people need to understand that the purpose of the force we're using is specifically to protect civilians, not to coerce a regime change," Franken said Tuesday, according to Minnesota Public Radio. "The president also needs to clarify how much this operation is going to cost American taxpayers, and how it's going to b! e paid for. I look forward to the Administration consulting with Congress in more detail on that and other issues related to this operation."

Since the U.S. began airstrikes on Libyan military targets under the control of dictator Moammar Gadhafi, American lawmakers on both the right and left have criticized Obama for going into Libya without congressional approval and without an apparent exit strategy. Few, so far, have mentioned the economic aspect.

In Britain, the cost has been a bigger part of the discussion. According to London's The Guardian newspaper, British Chancellor George Osborne estimates the cost for British involvement in upholding the United Nations resolution could be in the tens of millions to hundreds of millions of pounds.