Jim Webb’s key criticisms:
1. We have a military operation “but we do not have a clear diplomatic policy or a clear statement of foreign policy that is accompanying this military operation”
2. “We know we don’t like the Qaddafi regime, but we do not have a clear picture of who the opposition movement really is”
3. “Yes, e got a vote from the U.N. Security Council in order to put this into play but we had five key abstentions in that vote – Brazil, Russia, India, China, and Germany – and we have not put this issue in front of the American people in any meaningful way.”
4. According to Sen. Webb, we’ve been “sort of on autopilot for almost 10 years now in terms of presidential authority in conducting these type of military operations absent the meaningful participation of the Congress.” According to Webb, “this isn’t the way our system is supposed to work.”
5. Sen. Webb says that “the President and the Secretary of State have a very clear obligation now to come forward to the American people and to the Congress and state clearly what they believe the end point of this should be; they haven’t done that.”
6. Finally, Webb believes “this issue is of much more economic importance to Britain and France…we don’t have to get involved in every one of these [operations] quite frankly.”
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