On the recordJune 24, 2011
China has just hosted the Libyan opposition in China, and the opposition controls eastern Libya and is making progress in the west. I believe that the wrong decision today will significantly compromise that progress. Qadhafi wrote us a letter in the last debate just some weeks ago and thanked the House of Representatives for its debate. Is that the message we want to send to Qadhafi? I think not. It would put civilian lives at risk to withdraw. It would potentially stall the growing movements for democratization, not just in Libya but across the Middle East and, indeed, across the world. And it would severely undermine our NATO alliance, as we all know. If we want our allies to stand by us in our time of need in Afghanistan, we have to stand by them in places like Libya. We are either in an alliance or we're not. I do believe that President Obama could and should have done a better job of consulting with Congress at the outset of hostilities, and I do believe we are involved in hostilities. But I believe that we must, as a faithful ally and defender of freedom, defeat the Rooney resolution and support the Hastings resolution. America ought to do no less. Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to my friend and colleague, a member of the Committee on Armed Services, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. West).
