Rockefeller Statement on American Military Action in Libya

Statement

Senator Jay Rockefeller released the following statement on American military action in Libya:

"The President has made it very clear and I want to make it equally clear that we must not have American boots on the ground. This mission is limited in scope. I condemn Muammar Qaddafi's violence against innocent Libyan civilians and I understand that President Obama and our close allies have taken emergency action to accomplish two specific goals: First, to prevent a massacre of Libyan civilians, and second, to prevent the violence in Libya from rippling through the rest of the region, which threatens U.S. national security interests. I know the President carefully weighed all the options before taking this emergency action but now that our military has prevented an immediate disaster, I have very serious concerns about what this intervention means for our country in the coming weeks. Our military, and our budget, are stretched thin fighting two wars already, and I want to avoid getting into another conflict with unknown costs and consequences. We need to spark job creation and innovation here at home, not become entangled in another conflict abroad. I feel very strongly that we need to avoid deep military involvement in a third foreign country -- particularly in a country whose politics and society are largely unknown to us. The news that the United States has transferred operational control of this action to NATO, and that other allies will be assuming a great proportion of the operations, is a positive sign."

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