Statement on Situation in Libya

Statement

U.S.Congressman Sean Duffy (WI-07), a member of the Financial Services Committee and the Joint Economic Committee, released the following statement today, regarding the ongoing situation in Libya:

"There is no question that Muammar Qadhafi has committed ruthless and atrocious acts against his people and the United States of America. I supported President Obama in establishing a no-fly zone in Libya with a broad, international coalition.

"But I have grown increasingly concerned over the past week that certain basic questions have gone unanswered, and my support for continued American involvement will be contingent upon how those questions are answered. The Congress, and--more importantly--the American people deserve to know not only what the goals in Libya are, but how we will achieve them.

"For instance, the stated U.S. policy is that Muammar Qadhafi must go. However, the stated purpose of Operation Odyssey Dawn as defined by the U.N. resolution that the U.S. signed onto is limited in scope to a humanitarian mission. President Obama has promised that the U.S. will not be leading this mission for long and that command control will be handed over to NATO--yet after a week, there are still questions about how long American forces will be engaged and there appears to be disagreement among our coalition partners about how to move forward. We have yet to hear what our benchmarks for success are and what the end game is. These are important, vital questions about how our action in Libya advances American interests that should've been answered from the outset.

"It is my hope that this Administration will clear up what is currently a vague and murky mission that has the potential to become an open-ended use of American forces. When we are $14 trillion in debt and borrowing upwards of $1.6 trillion on an annual basis, we literally cannot afford spending resources on a mission in Libya that is not limited or clearly defined."

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