Colorado Senator Mark Udall says he still has concerns and some unanswered questions about U-S military involvement in Libya after the President explained his decision Monday night.
In a phone call with reporters immediately after the President’s speech, Udall reiterated his support for the decision to act quickly. But he wonders now whether the U-S engagement can remain “limited” and still meet all its objectives.
“A Libya with Kaddafi still in charge is a potentially greater security threat to the U.S. while a stalemate could divide Libya and leave a power vacuum in a region that’s already pretty darn unstable. And we can only hope that if Kaddafi leaves the scene, the alternative will be a regime that we can support,” Udall says.
Udall said the questions that the President has yet to answer include: how long will the U-S remain involved through NATO, and to what extent will the effort detract or distract from ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
As a member of both the Senate Armed Services and Intelligence Committees, Udall will have opportunities this week to question top military and cabinet officials – at hearings and in a classified briefing on the Hill.