—A former high-ranking member of the Obama administration who was directly involved in the Libya deliberations

“She's different from Obama. He’s a more solitary decision-maker and works with a very small group. She consults widely and intensively. She talks to more people, takes more phone calls, travels more miles.”

“She’s more disciplined than her husband,” the official said. “Hillary Clinton came into the Situation Room for every meeting thoroughly prepared. There wasn’t anything she hadn’t read. She was punctual. She’s a disciplined decision-maker.”

When Clinton heard the Libya news, she gathered her top aides, along with other officials with expertise in Libya, at the State Department.

Over the next four weeks, Clinton received emails with advice from friends including her former aide Anne-Marie Slaughter, former Clinton administration adviser Sidney Blumenthal and former British prime minister Tony Blair, whose office sent notes from Blair’s private phone calls with Gaddafi urging him to step down.

Clinton forwarded them to Sullivan or other aides, with notations such as “pls print” or “pls read,” according to emails released by the State Department. But it is unclear whether Clinton sought that outside advice or how it affected her thinking.

“Obviously she’s got people she’s close to she relies on a great deal, but it’s not a palace-guard-like process,” said Derek Chollet, who was part of the Libya deliberations as a member of the White House’s National Security Council staff after working as a top Clinton aide for two years. “She’s comfortable with ‘flat’ organizations. She likes to hear from the junior people.”

Aides said Clinton rarely mentions her husband, former president Bill Clinton, when debating issues with her staff. But they said it seems clear that he serves as an important adviser and sounding board for her.

Hillary Clinton was initially cautious in her public remarks about Libya because, aides said, she did not want to provoke Gaddafi as she worked to arrange the safe departure of more than 300 U.S. Embassy staffers and other Americans.

Clinton’s public comments were also constrained by the president’s posture. Obama’s statements on Libya were extremely cautious; his first was issued on Feb. 18 and called for the governments of Bahrain, Libya and Yemen to “show restraint” and “respect the rights of their people.”

Three days later, Clinton called for an end to “this unacceptable bloodshed” and urged Libya to “respect the universal rights of the people.”

To critics, and even some allies, Clinton’s response seemed tepid and disappointingly insufficient.

“The horrific situation in Libya demands more than just public condemnation; it requires strong international action,” Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) said in a statement.

The senators, Sarkozy, British Prime Minister David Cameron and others were calling for the United States and allies to establish a no-fly zone over Libya to ground Gaddafi’s planes and helicopters, which had been attacking and killing rebels and protesters.

“Libya was a case where we needed to get out there, seize the moment and support these people,” said Lieberman, who retired from the Senate in 2013. “We wanted [Obama and Clinton] to understand that what was happening in Libya was important to the future of the Arab world and American credibility.”

Clinton believed that establishing a no-fly zone was premature, said Sullivan, who described her “first instinct” as seeking a way “to de-escalate the situation and avoid large-scale violence.”

Clinton was skeptical that a no-fly zone would be an effective deterrent to Gaddafi, since it would ground his planes but not stop his tanks and troops.

Sullivan said she started posing key questions to her advisers:

Who would enforce the no-fly zone? Would normally reluctant Arab nations participate? Would a no-fly zone achieve its goal of protecting civilians? Would the U.N. Security Council back the move?