( CNN ) -- If the U.S. military were to intervene in an increasingly chaotic Libya , it would most likely be part of a NATO action in which Libyan bloodshed has reached a humanitarian crisis , analysts said Thursday . As reports emerged Thursday about deadly clashes between leader Moammar Gadhafi 's forces and anti-government protesters in the town of Zawiya near Tunisia , analysts highlighted how Gadhafi has already pledged to fight a rebellion to martyrdom . Military intervention `` is something which I hope does n't happen , but it looks as though at some point that it should happen , '' said Simon Henderson , senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy . `` What 's an acceptable number of civilian deaths ? I do n't know . Choose your figure , '' Henderson said . `` At the very least , instead of having a casualty list certainly in the hundreds , possibly in the thousands , we do n't want a casualty list numbering in the tens of thousands , or 100,000 or so . '' After 10 days of protest , Gadhafi has lost control of the eastern portion of a country he has ruled for 42 years , and analysts portrayed him as a dictator desperately clinging to power . Members of his government have defected , and in a sign of growing international pressure , Switzerland ordered Thursday that Gadhafi 's assets be frozen . `` You 've got to assume the worst about Moammar Gadhafi , '' Nicholas Burns , a professor at Harvard Kennedy School and former under secretary of state between 2005 and 2008 , told CNN . `` With his back to the wall , he 's going to go out in a blaze of vicious attacks . '' North Atlantic Treaty Organization defense chiefs ought to be holding discussions about `` not taking action but preparation '' for the Libyan crisis , said Robert Kagan , a Mideast expert who worked in the State Department under President Ronald Reagan . `` I do n't think anyone is talking about immediate military actions now , '' Kagan told CNN , especially as 167 U.S. citizens are waiting on a ferry to leave Libya . U.S. officials have said all options were under consideration , including sanctions and enforcement of a no-fly zone , to try to keep the Libyan government from attacking protesters . Ibrahim Sharqieh , deputy director of Brookings Doha Center in Qatar , interpreted that statement as indicating that military force remains a possibility . `` In my opinion , it 's still premature to talk about U.S. military intervention in Libya at this point , but we should not eliminate it completely , '' Sharqieh said . Meanwhile , the Department of State recommended Thursday that the 6,000 or so Americans in Libya `` depart immediately due to the potential for ongoing unrest . '' Libya 's disintegration , the latest Middle East uprising that has already toppled autocracies in nearby Tunisia and Egypt , poses greater impacts to Europe than the United States , analysts said . Africa 's largest oil producer , Libya exports 1.5 million barrels a day , mostly to Europe , which relies on the country for 10 % of its energy needs , analysts said . Meanwhile , refugees fleeing Libyan violence are expected to land in such European countries as Italy , analysts said . On Thursday , President Barack Obama spoke with the leaders of France , Italy and the United Kingdom on coordinating an international response to the crisis in Libya , the White House said . In separate phone conversations with French President Nicolas Sarkozy , Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and British Prime Minister David Cameron , Obama `` expressed his deep concern with the Libyan government 's use of violence , which violates international norms and every standard of human decency , and discussed appropriate and effective ways for the international community to immediately respond , '' the White House statement said . While some critics say the Obama administration has been slow to react to Libya , the statement said Thursday 's discussions were to `` coordinate our urgent efforts to respond to developments and ensure that there is appropriate accountability . '' `` The leaders discussed the range of options that both the United States and European countries are preparing to hold the Libyan government accountable for its actions , as well as planning for humanitarian assistance , '' the White House statement said . Complicating any consideration of military intervention is how American and European armed forces have been strained from repeated deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq for almost 10 years , analysts said . Libya 's factions and tribalism would make an intervention perilous , said Nathan Hughes , director of military analysis for the global intelligence firm Stratfor of Austin , Texas . `` It 's not clear what a post-Gadhafi Libya looks like , '' Hughes said . `` It 's a very messy situation . It would be a very difficult situation to jump into militarily . `` There are no geographical boundaries . There are soft demographic , cultural and tribal boundaries . To get enmeshed in that without understanding the local culture ... it would be a pretty tough spot to put troops in , '' Hughes added . `` Once the writing is on the wall that Gadhafi is going to go likely to go , the incentive for the various tribal factions and other factions within Libya is to maneuver to make sure they have a place in whatever comes next . '' Were NATO to send armed forces into Libya , the rest of the Arab world would n't protest much , the analysts said . `` I do n't think they would have any problem with this . I would suspect that the Arab world would support this , '' Sharqieh said . Added Henderson : `` On day one , they would probably think it 's a good idea . On day two , come back and ask ... me . ''
Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi has pledged to fight the rebellion to martyrdom . The rebels have been fighting for more than a year against Gadhafi's regime in an effort to oust him from power. But if bloodshed spirals out of control , U.S. may be likely to join a NATO intervention .