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Libya crisis shows need to fund diplomacy - Clinton
Reuters - Wednesday, March 2
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By Susan Cornwell
WASHINGTON - Libya may become a peaceful democracy or face a drawn-out civil war, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Tuesday as she urged Congress not to cut funds she said were vital to deal with crises abroad.
U.S. global leadership needs resolve and resources, Clinton told the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee in the first of four congressional hearings this week where she will defend her budget against proposed Republican reductions.
"In the years ahead, Libya could become a peaceful democracy or it could face protracted civil war, or it could descend into chaos. The stakes are high," she said.
"The entire region is changing, and a strong and strategic American response will be essential."
Libya, where Muammar Gaddafi is trying to crush a revolt, was an example of how Washington must use its resources to "protect our interests and advance our values," she told the lawmakers, some of whom want to cut overseas spending.
Clinton spoke a day after the United States began moving warships and aircraft closer to Libya, and froze $30 billion in assets, stepping up pressure on Gaddafi to give up power.
"We are taking no options off the table so long as the Libyan government continues to turn its guns on its own people," she said.
Clinton has just returned from Geneva, where she discussed Libya with other governments outraged over Gaddafi's violent attempt to put down the rebellion against his 41-year rule.
No one expects any direct foreign military intervention in Libya for now, although there has been talk of a no-fly zone to prevent Libya's air force from attacking protesters.
U.S. officials say privately that there is little appetite for a no-fly zone.
Separately, Clinton played down the idea of foreign forces helping opposition fighters to topple Gaddafi, saying "they want this to have been their accomplishment. We respect that."
'LEAN BUDGET'
Clinton testified to defend U.S. President Barack Obama's $47 billion budget request -- up 1 percent from 2010 levels -- for the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development, calling it a "lean budget for lean times."
Republicans, who took control of the House in November elections, have called for a tough new look at non-military overseas spending amid widespread calls to control the ballooning U.S. federal deficit.
Clinton said Americans were justifiably concerned about the national debt but insisted they also wanted investments in the future, including diplomacy and aid to other countries.
Retreating from international responsibilities often imposed long-term costs, she said, as happened in Afghanistan when the United States "walked away" after the Cold War ended and Soviet troops had gone home.
"We saved money in the short term. But those savings came at an unspeakable cost -- one we are still paying, 10 years later, in money and lives," she said, alluding to the rise of al Qaeda in Afghanistan and the September 11, 2001, attacks.
Representative Howard Berman, the committee's top Democrat, called the Republican approach to cutting spending on diplomacy and development aid a "slash and burn process."
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the Florida Republican who chairs the committee, largely rejected that argument.
"Those who complain about diminished levels of international affairs funding need to ask themselves: How much less would an insolvent United States of America be able to do?" she said.
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