Lincold Journal Star - Fortenberry, Terry mull Libya decision

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By: Don Walton

Reps. Jeff Fortenberry of Lincoln and Lee Terry of Omaha wrestled with the complexity of the U.S. decision to intervene in the Libyan uprising during a foreign policy discussion Monday with Nebraska high school students.

The United States "can't fix all conflicts," Fortenberry said, but the decision to step in as part of a measured international military mission to prevent a slaughter of Libyan civilians was "the right thing to do."

Terry raised questions about the decision and said he would listen carefully to President Obama's address to the nation to hear "why he feels that was important for the United States to do."

"We can be benevolent," Terry said, "but we can't afford to do good just for good's sake."

The imperative for U.S. foreign policy should be making decisions based on determining "is it vital to the United States," Terry said.

With Libya ruled by "a megalomaniac who (had signaled) he would show no mercy," Fortenberry said, "it would be very hard for us to sit idly by and see people slaughtered."

But there should be a sense of international responsibility and a multinational effort to provide humanitarian assistance, he said.

Fortenberry and Terry answered questions during a session at the State Capitol with more than 100 high school students participating in a forum sponsored by the Nebraska Humanities Council and Secretary of State John Gale.

Rep. Adrian Smith of Gering answered questions posed by students during a video conference aired in another room.

Terry, a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, strongly defended renewed development of nuclear energy in the United States despite the nuclear power plant failures in Japan in the wake of a massive earthquake and devastating tsunami.

Regulations in the United States require four backup sources of power for nuclear plants, Terry said, rather than the one that failed in Japan at the six-reactor Fukushima Daiichi plant, plunging several reactors to the precipice of meltdown.

And, Terry said, U.S. regulations require nuclear plants to be hardened sufficiently to survive the impact of a Boeing 757 aircraft.

"We could absorb a tsunami," he said.

Terry said he has been briefed by experts who believe conditions at the nuclear complex in Japan are "worse than they acknowledge."

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