Letter to Barack Obama, President of the United States - Making Use of Government Assets as Part of Broader Humanitarian Effort for Libyans

Letter

U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Joe Lieberman (I-CT), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) today sent a letter to President Barack Obama urging him to make immediate use of unique U.S. government assets as part of the broader humanitarian effort to address the critical medical needs of Libyans wounded during the fight to free their country from the grip of the Qaddafi dictatorship.

Senators McCain, Graham, Kirk and Rubio recently returned from Tripoli, Libya where they visited with many of those wounded during the fight against Qaddafi's forces.

Full letter below:

October 12, 2011

President Barack Obama
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500

Mr. President,

We write to urge you to make immediate use of unique U.S. government assets as part of the broader humanitarian effort to address the urgent medical needs of Libyans wounded during the fight to free their country from the grip of the Qaddafi dictatorship.

As you know, thousands of Libyans have been badly injured in the course of several months of conflict, many requiring advanced treatment and prosthetics. Libya, however, currently lacks the capacity to provide its wounded with the care they need inside their country. As a result, many of the Libyan injured are receiving care in Tunisia, in Europe, and in other friendly countries. The National Transitional Council (NTC), in turn, is providing reimbursement for these medical expenses through the use of Qaddafi-era assets that have been unfrozen and transferred to them for the benefit of the Libyan people.

The United States military possesses unique humanitarian and medical capabilities that could make a significant and immediate impact in helping our Libyan friends in this moment of need. One idea, which has been discussed with the NTC and the Maltese government, is to deploy a U.S. Navy hospital ship offshore in Libya or Malta to help care for wounded Libyans. Another idea, also supported by the NTC, is to open U.S. military medical facilities in Europe to a certain number of injured Libyans who require more advanced care. The NTC has expressed its willingness to reimburse our government for the costs of providing this humanitarian assistance, as they are now doing in the case of Tunisia. We urge you to take action on these or other such measures.

In addition to humanitarian considerations, we believe that a visible commitment of U.S. military medical resources would strengthen and consolidate the remarkable pro-American attitude among the Libyan people at this time. It would send a strong message of reassurance to Libyans that the United States--having helped them to free their country from a dictatorship--will now stand with them as they begin to recover and rebuild from that conflict. Such support will also strengthen the authority and legitimacy of the NTC, which faces enormous public pressure to provide adequate care for the war wounded.

This is a critical moment for the future of Libya and the broader region. We thank you for your attention to this matter and your steadfast support for the stabilization and democratic transition in Libya.

Sincerely,

Senator John McCain Senator Joseph Lieberman

Senator Lindsey Graham Senator Mark Kirk

Senator Marco Rubio