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Sunday, March 27, 2011

VIDEO: Post Show Thoughts: Libya as a vital US interest





There are so many questions still looming about the U.S. involvement in Libya, and that's what I wanted to get to with the secretaries.  What's the end game and what happens if Khaddafy clings to power?  Why Libya and not Middle East countries like Bahrain or Yemen where similar government crackdowns are taking place?
It is clear President Obama wants Khaddafy out of power, but Gates told me the allies would not do so militarily.  "We have things in our toolbox in addition to hammers," he said. 
It seems much of the administration's motivation for taking action in Libya was driven by a fear of what could happen had we been caught retroactively.  Here's what Clinton told me:
"Can you imagine, David, if we were sitting here and Khaddafy had gotten to Benghazi?  And in a city of 700,000 people had massacred tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands had fled over the border, destabilizing Egypt.  Everybody would be saying, 'Why didn’t the President do something?'"
Clinton said many of the questions that Congress and the public has will be answered during the president's address Monday night.
For the GOP response from Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN) and analysis from our roundtable, visit our website.
And be sure to check back to our site this Wednesday when we'll post my interview with newly elected RNC Chair Reince Priebus.
If it's Sunday, it's Meet The Press.

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