After a press conference on Pell Grants this morning–in which he declared “evil” the Republican proposals to cut them–Senator Charles Schumer reiterated his support for a Libyan campaign that is “limited in scope and in time.”
“We have two goals,” Schumer said. “The first is the humanitarian goal of preventing Muammar Qaddafi from rolling in and massacring innocent civilians.”
In stating the second goal, Schumer echoed his words from the last several weeks–and Morning Joe this morning–that the Obama administration aims “to disrupt the command, control and supply” of Qaddafi’s forces, preferably with the aid of European and Arab nations that have far more economic and social investments in Libya than does the U.S. “It’s time that they stepped up,” said the senator.
When asked about the administration’s exit strategy, Sen. Schumer put greater emphasis on the military’s current plan of action. “Our goal is to allow the major proportion of action to be taken up by NATO, the United Emirates, and the Arab League countries. We want to give them as much control as possible. No one is envisioning ground troops. Our goal is to slow down Qaddafi so that the rebel forces can have a chance.”
He concluded: “My watch word is and always has been ‘caution’. We need to be careful that the United States’ role doesn’t expand.”
Here’s his Morning Joe appearance (which concludes with some comments about Anthony Weiner’s hair):
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