In Libya, Clinton Worked with Our Allies to Stand Up to a Murderous
Dictator
When considering the decision to intervene in Libya, we must recall the
situation that we were facing in 2011. Libya was at the mercy of
Muammar Qadhafi, a murderous dictator with American blood on his
hands. As the Libyan people started to demonstrate against the Qadhafi
regime, he began massacring his own citizens by the hundreds.

Feb. 18 – The Guardian: Libya protests: massacres reported as Gaddafi imposes
news blackout

Feb. 20 – The Telegraph: Libya protests: 140 'massacred' as Gaddafi sends in
snipers to crush dissent
Qadhafi and his regime made perfectly clear what their plans were for
dealing with those who stood up against his reign, using disgusting
language in urging his backers to cleanse the country of these rebels.
This was a humanitarian crisis.

Feb. 22 – BBC: “In his first major speech since unrest began last week, Col
Gaddafi said the whole world looked up to Libya and that protests were ‘serving
the devil’. He urged his supporters to go out and attack the "cockroaches"
demonstrating against his rule.”

March 11 – Daily Mail: “As the EU debated no-fly zones, Gaddafi's regime
threatened to cleanse Libya of rebel forces and chase them 'like rats' from 'house
to house, from farm to farm and from one city to another city'.”
And there was no doubt that further atrocities were on the way, as
Qadhafi’s forces storming towards the county’s second biggest city.

March 15 – New York Times: “Behind tanks, heavy artillery and airstrikes, forces
loyal to Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi routed a ragtag army of insurgents and wouldbe revolutionaries who were holding the last defensive line before the rebel
capital of Benghazi on Tuesday.”
Our closest NATO allies – Britain, France, and Italy – were making
strong calls for us to join their efforts to intervene. And our closest
partners in the region had voted for a no-fly zone and were pleading for
us to get engaged.

Feb. 27 – New York Times: “Further increasing international pressure on Colonel
Qaddafi, the Libyan leader, Italy suspended a 2008 treaty with Libya that includes
a nonaggression clause, a move that could allow it to take part in future
peacekeeping operations in Libya or enable the use of its military bases in any
possible intervention.”

March 12 – New York Times: Arab League Endorses No-Flight Zone Over Libya

March 18 – New York Times: “France and Britain had been calling for a no-fly
zone for two weeks, [French Foreign Minister, Alain Juppe] said Wednesday…
He added that it was not enough just to call on Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi to quit,
as leaders in the United States and other nations had done.”
At home, too, there was support across the political spectrum for
stepping up American leadership to protect the Libyan people from
attacks by their brutal dictator.

Feb. 22 – Sens. John McCain and Joe Lieberman: “The horrific situation in Libya
demands more than just public condemnation; it requires strong international
action. … Some Libyan diplomats have bravely called for a no-fly zone to stop
the Qaddafi regime's use of airpower to attack Libyan civilians. We support this
course of action.”

March 11 – Sen. John Kerry: “Perhaps the mere threat of a no-fly zone will keep
Gaddafi's pilots from using their helicopters and fighter jets to kill their own
people. If it does not, we should be crystal-clear that we will lead the free world
to avoid the senseless slaughter of any more Libyan citizens by a mad man bent
on maintaining power. We should also make clear that the United States - just as
we did in Bosnia and Kosovo - is taking a stand against a thug who is killing
Muslims.”
Hillary Clinton, after consulting closely with our allies, voiced her
strong support within the administration in favor of the US joining in
international action – action that was praised for preventing further
humanitarian disaster.

Feb 22. – Sec. Clinton Press Release: “The United States strongly condemns the
ongoing violence and human rights violations committed by the government of
Libya against its own people. … This afternoon I continued close consultations
with our European allies, including EU High Representative Catherine Ashton.”

April 6 – Human Rights Watch President Tom Malinowski “The Obama
administration and its international allies did act just in time to stop that from
happening. In my view, this was probably the most rapid multinational military
response to an impending human rights crisis in history, with broader
international support than any of the humanitarian interventions we've conducted
in the past”
The UN Security Council voted 10 - 0 in favor of a resolution that
established a no-fly zone and authorized the use of “all necessary
measures” to prevent attacks on Libyan civilians.

March 17 – UN Press Release: Security Council Approves ‘No-Fly Zone’ over
Libya, Authorizing ‘All Necessary Measures’ to Protect Civilians, by Vote of 10
in Favour with 5 Abstentions
Qadhafi repeatedly refused to step down and play a role in a peaceful
transition to a new government, and he was eventually toppled by his
own people. And all this happened without putting a single American
boot on the ground.

Feb. 28 – Reuters: Clinton says Gaddafi must go

April 15 – BBC: Libya: Obama, Cameron and Sarkozy vow Gaddafi must go

June 13 – The Telegraph: Col Gaddafi refuses to step down, playing chess instead

Aug. 22 – Financial Times: World leaders urge Gaddafi to step down

Oct. 20 – NBC News: Libya’s Moammar Gadhafi Killed Hometown Battle
Under Hillary Clinton’s leadership we took numerous steps to work
with the international community to help Libya make this transition.
She worked closely with their nascent leaders. We worked to legitimize
the newly elected government; we helped destroy stockpiles of
Qadhafi’s remaining chemical weapons as well as over 5,000 antiaircraft weapons; and we offered humanitarian aid to the Libyan
people.

Oct. 18, 2011 – ABC News: Hillary Clinton Visits Libya to Meet Rebel Leaders

Feb. 2, 2012 – State Department aide: “Our technical specialists were embedded
in support of TNC-led teams to pursue loose MANPADS (Man-Portable-AirDefense-Systems). …Thus far these teams have helped to identify, recover, and
secure approximately 5,000 MANPADS and components.”

March 8, 2012 – Sec. Clinton: Remarks With Prime Minister Elkeib After Their
Meeting

March 12, 2012 – Sec. Clinton Remarks at UNSC: “Let me start with Libya and
the encouraging vote this morning to renew and update the UN Support Mission
in Libya, UNSMIL. Last year, this council – backed by the Arab League and
countries around the world – acted to support the Libyan people at the hour of
their greatest need. Today’s vote reflects our continued commitment to Libya and
its transitional government, which has made tremendous strides. And it also
reflects the recognition that our work is not yet done.”

Feb. 2, 2014 – New York Times: Libya’s Cache of Toxic Arms All Destroyed
After Qadhafi’s fall, Libya held its first election in half a century. The
Libyan people and resoundingly elected a moderate coalition, a
testament to their desire for real change after so many years under
Qadhafi’s ruthless reign.

July 7, 2012 – New York Times: “Defying expectations and, in some places,
bullets, Libyans across most of the country voted Saturday in the first election
after more than four decades of isolation and totalitarianism under Col. Muammar
el-Qaddafi.”

July 9, 2012 – The Telegraph: Libyan moderate coalition wins election
The current unrest in Libya is concerning and must be addressed – but
the alternative would have been far worse. Had we opted for inaction,
Libya would look something like what Syria looks like today. We would
have been rebuffing our allies and turning our back on the Libyan
people in the face of a murderous dictator. That’s not what Hillary
Clinton views as American leadership and she refused to let it happen.