Broadening military mission in Libya to include regime change would be a mistake, U.S. President Barack Obama said in a nationally televised speech at the National Defense University.

U.S. President Barack Obama speaks about Libya at the National Defense University in Washington, Monday, March 28, 2011. [Xinhua]

The task of the U.S. forces is "to protect the Libyan people from immediate danger, and to establish a no-fly zone -– carries with it a U.N. mandate and international support," Obama said, adding "It is also what the Libyan opposition asked us to do."

"If we tried to overthrow Qaddafi by force, our coalition would splinter. We would likely have to put U.S. troops on the ground to accomplish that mission, or risk killing many civilians from the air," Obama argued.

"The dangers faced by our men and women in uniform would be far greater. So would the costs and our share of the responsibility for what comes next," the President added, expressing his warning that the U.S. is not going to repeat the mistake in Iraq.

Obama explained to the Americans the current military maneuver in Libya and said that some progress has been made.

I can report that we have stopped Qaddafi's deadly advance,"  claimed President Obama.

"The United States has worked with our international partners to mobilize a broad coalition, secure an international mandate to protect civilians, stop an advancing army, prevent a massacre, and establish a no-fly zone with our allies and partners," said Obama.