Norton Wants Assurances on US Intervention into Possible Libyan Civil War Endangering Libyan Rebels

Norton Wants Assurances About US Intervention into Possible Libyan Civil War Endangering Libyan Rebels

March 21, 2011

WASHINGTON, DC -- Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), who has cheered for an Egyptian-inspired revolution in Libya, said she feared that what she was now seeing was U.S. intervention into "a civil war that could leave Libya split into warring factions, further destabilizing the Middle East." Norton, who was on a House Democratic Caucus conference call on Saturday, said she agreed with many Members on the call that the action on Libya leaves the American public with many unanswered questions and that the President needs to seek a congressional resolution for an affirmative military intervention, as presidents before him have done. She said that Intelligence Committee members on the call said the U.S. has only scant intelligence on Libya, including on the rebels. Norton said knowing something more about the rebels would be useful in understanding whether a civil war seems likely. "We have opened a third war in the Middle East that could not have taken place without U.S. firepower."

The no-fly zone that was authorized by the United Nations quickly became bombing of ground forces, yielding a protest from Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa (who is also running for President of Egypt) that the Arab League had endorsed only a no-fly zone to protect civilians, not bombing that could produce civilian casualties. Moussa said that he was seeking an emergency meeting of the Arab League. Norton said she was particularly disappointed that assurances of Arab support "apparently means token support from Quatorze, which hadn't shown up at last report."

Most disturbing, however are confused objectives for the intervention. "Is it Gaddafi must go or is this a no-fly mission to protect civilians?" Norton asked. "These objectives are at war with each other. If Gaddafi remains and becomes entrenched, the rebels and other civilians could be in even greater danger. Yet the U.S. position is that we are not after Gaddafi, but are only there to protect innocent civilians. Norton applauded the apparent effects of the action this weekend in repelling the attack on rebel-held Benghazi. Yet she said that coalition forces are not coordinating with opposition forces, and she is concerned that the rebels are vulnerable because they have few weapons or communication equipment. "It would be a tragedy of unintended consequences if by not thinking through the end game, this action were to leave the rebels isolated and surrounded by Gaddafi," Norton said.