Jim Webb: “I am pleased to come to the Senate floor, along with my colleague, Senator Corker, a fellow member of the Senate Foreign…”

“I am pleased to come to the Senate floor, along with my colleague, Senator Corker, a fellow member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, to speak about a joint resolution we are introducing today that deals with the situation in Libya. This is introduced as a joint resolution rather than as an amendment on the current legislation because I believe this matter is serious enough that our body should actually consider this as a stand-alone piece of legislation and coordinate it with the House and get this passed with due speed. This resolution, first of all, contains a statement of policy that American Armed Forces should be used exclusively to defend and advance our national security interests. Second, it prohibits the deployment, establishment, or maintenance of ground troops in Libya, with two notable exceptions. The first would be for the purpose of the immediate personal defense of American Government officials, including diplomatic representatives, which I believe would be an important exclusion once and if we decide to conduct negotiations or reestablish our Embassy inside Libya. The other exception would be for the purpose of rescuing members of our Armed Forces who would be in Libya and would be under imminent danger. It also prohibits the awarding of a contract to private security contractors to conduct, establish, or maintain any activities on the ground in Libya.…”