By Paul Tuthill
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wamc/local-wamc-958919.mp3
Boston, MA – UN backed air strikes continue for a third day in Libya. President Obama is defending the military action he ordered, which he said was to protect civilians from being slaughtered by forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi. Reaction from the region's Congressman is mixed, as we hear from WAMC's Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill ..
The two Democrats who represent Western Massachusetts in the US house said the actions the United States had taken in Libya were appropriate. Congressman John Olver , in a statement said, quote..the operations significantly limit Gadhafi's ability to harm civilians. Olver also noted the intervention was called for by the Libyan opposition, and backed , almost unanimously, by the international community.
US Representative Richard Neal of Massachusetts said the US did not rush to war in Libya and is not trying ,necessarily, to remove Gadhafi from power .
But Congressman Chris Gibson, a Republican , representing New York's 20th district, called for an immediate halt to US military operations in Libya. In a statement he noted that US forces were still committed in Iraq and Afghanistan and said quote .Now is not the time to take on new missions.
The congressional divide on Libya is not a partisan one. Democrat Stephen Lynch, of the 9th district in eastern Massachusetts echoed Gibson's concerns
Lynch,who has been mentioned as a possible candidate for US Senate, to challenge Republican Scott Brown next year, told WGBH TV the US has no national security priority in Lybia that would justify President Obama ordering air strikes without Congressional a uthorization.
Massachusetts's senior US Senator, John Kerry supports the US mission ,insisting on the Meet The Press, this week that the goal is not to get rid of Gadhafi
Kerry, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was one of the first US officials to call for imposing a no fly zone over Libya, when the uprising against Gadhafi began.