State Department Official and Lawmakers Discuss Libya Crisis

31 March 2011

U.S. Lawmakers discussed U.S. policy toward Libya — its implications for America and the Middle East and North Africa region — with Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg at a House Committee on Foreign Affairs hearing March 31.

Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (Republican-Florida), chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, led the hearing and said that Americans question if involvement in the Libyan crisis may signal U.S. action in other countries experiencing turmoil, such as Côte d’Ivoire or Syria.

“Another area of concern is the scope, duration and objectives of the NATO-led operation and the political mission, that have not been sufficiently defined, nor have the anticipated short-, medium- and long-term commitments of the United States,” Ros-Lehtinen said.

Steinberg said that the Obama administration’s decision to work with the international community and support U.N. Security Council Resolution 1973 has prevented a massacre of Libyan civilians by Colonel Muammar Qadhafi’s security forces.

“All of this has been accomplished consistent with President Obama’s pledge to the American people that our military role would be limited, that we would not put ground troops into Libya,” Steinberg said.

As the situation in Libya unfolded quickly, Steinberg said President Obama acted decisively in working with the international community.

“As his troops headed toward Benghazi, Qadhafi again defied the international community, declaring, ‘We will have no mercy and no pity,’” Steinberg said. “Based on his decades-long history of brutality, we had little choice but to take him at his words.”

“As NATO assumes command and control of the military operations, we are confident that the coalition will keep the pressure on Qadhafi’s remaining forces until he fully complies with Resolution 1973,” Steinberg said.

Representative Howard L. Berman (Democrat-California), ranking member of the committee, said the burden of military action is being shared among U.S. allies, including some Arab countries. Action taken by the international community against the Qadhafi regime, he said, can help prevent instability that could derail democratic transformation in nearby countries.

“Libya’s neighbors, Tunisia and Egypt, have just gone through revolutions that are changing the nature of the region, hopefully for the better,” Berman said. “If Libya were to spin out of control and instability were to pour over its borders, the entire region would suffer.”

Steinberg discussed nonmilitary aspects of U.S. strategy on Libya, which include relief operations and continued pressure on the Qaddafi regime.

“We are working with NATO, the EU, the U.N. and other international organizations to get aid to people who need it,” Steinberg said, adding that the U.S. government has provided $47 million to meet humanitarian needs.

Steinberg said that the recently formed Libyan Contact Group, a coalition of Arab and non-Arab representatives that will lead efforts to map out Libya’s future, is exerting pressure on the Qadhafi regime.

“The contact group on Monday sent a strong international message that we must move forward with a representative democratic transition and that Qadhafi has lost the legitimacy to lead and must go,” Steinberg said.

Stressing the importance of U.S. involvement in ending the Libyan crisis, Steinberg said a lack of action would send the wrong message to those who oppose democracy in the region.

“It would undercut democratic aspirations across the region and embolden repressive leaders to believe that violence is the best strategy to cling to power,” Steinberg said. “It would undermine the credibility of the Security Council and our ability to work with others to uphold peace and security.”