MACTV News: U.S Secretary of State Predicts How Libyan Crisis will End

March 02, 2011 By Williams Ekanem At the United States Senate floor on Wednesday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton while commenting on the political crisis in Libya predicts that in the years ahead, Libya could become a peaceful democracy, or it could face a protracted civil war, or it could fall into chaos. Addressing the Senators on the Senate Appropriations Committee on State and Foreign Operations, the Secretary of State said that the stakes are high and it is an opportunity for the United States to use its combined assets of diplomacy, development, and defense to protect its interests and advance its values. “This integrated approach is not just how we respond to the crisis of the moment. It is the most effective and most cost-effective way to sustain and advance our security interests across the world. And it is only possible with a budget that supports all the tools in our national security arsenal,” she stated. Giving report of her Monday meeting in Geneva, the Secretary of State said that “Marathon diplomacy at the United Nations and with our allies has yielded quick, aggressive steps to pressure and isolate Libya’s leaders. We welcomed yesterday’s decision to suspend Libya from the Human Rights Council.” She indicated that the United States is poised to assist Libyan citizens through the USIAD. USIAD, she pointed out “is focused on Libya’s food and medical supplies and is dispatching two expert humanitarian teams to help those fleeing the violence into Tunisia and Egypt. Our combatant commands are positioning assets to prepare to support these critical civilian missions. And we are taking no option off the table so long as the Libyan Government continues to turn its guns on its own people.” On this note she then urged the Senate to approve the $47 billion budget request for the agency. According to her, “for the first time, our request is divided in two parts. Our core budget request is for $47 billion, which supports programs and partnerships in every country but North Korea. It is essentially flat from 2010 levels. The second part of our request funds the extraordinary, temporary portion of our war effort that we are responsible for in the same way the Pentagon’s request is funded – in a separate Overseas Contingency Operations account known as OCO. Instead of covering our war expenses through supplemental appropriations, we are now taking a more transparent approach that reflects our fully integrated civilian-military effort on the ground. Our share of the President’s $126 billion request for these exceptional wartime costs is 8.7 billion.”