[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 15651]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                                 LIBYA

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, December 1, 2016

  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, for six months, the U.S.-backed troops 
of the interim Libyan Government of National Accord has been fighting 
street by street to retake the ISIS stronghold of Sirte on the Libyan 
coast.
  ISIS seized control of the city in early 2015 and extended its 
control along about 155 miles of Libya's coastline. That means that 
ISIS wields its influence over a territory roughly the distance from 
Houston to San Antonio.
  How did the U.S. get here? How did Libya become an incubator for all 
stripes of terrorists?
  In 2008, U.S. military leaders were calling Libya a top U.S. ally in 
combating international terrorism. Qaddafi realized that his regime was 
the target of terrorism, and he changed course from supporting 
terrorists in the 1980s to siding with the U.S. against the terrorist 
threat.
  However, in 2011, in the midst of a rebellion against the Qaddafi 
regime, the U.S. decided to intervene and establish a no-fly zone to 
aid the Libyan rebels.
  Under the safety of the no-fly zone the U.S. imposed, Islamist 
terrorist groups long subdued under Qaddafi's regime sprung up and 
amassed weapons, training, and military training.
  Qaddafi was ultimately killed in October 2011. Within days, NATO and 
U.S. forces packed up and left Libya to its own devices.
  America's only Libya policy at the time was to remove Qaddafi--there 
was little planning regarding what to do the day after. The U.S. opened 
the Pandora's box and looked away.
  Almost immediately after Qaddafi's ouster, Libya spiraled into chaos. 
Long simmering political, regional, and ethnic divisions suddenly 
emerged and set Libya on a path towards disaster. The country has never 
recovered.
  Even the Administration has admitted its role in Libya's failure. 
Earlier this year, the President admitted that there was no plan for 
post-Qaddafi Libya, describing it as his biggest regret as President.
  Libya has become a regional and international security threat due to 
this Administration's lack of planning. ISIS and al-Qaeda are the main 
beneficiaries.
  Al-Qaeda's Libyan affiliate, Ansar al-Shariah, emerged shortly after 
Qaddafi's death and has since become deeply entrenched in the country.
  They have successfully filled the void the U.S. helped create by 
providing social services--building schools and providing medical care.
  But they did not stop there. They recruited, armed, and trained 
terrorist fighters intent on carrying out the group's ultimate goal: 
imposing Islamic law on the country.
  Ansar al-Shariah fighters were among those who ultimately attacked 
the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi in 2012, killing Ambassador 
Christopher Stevens and three of his colleagues.
  Since then, things have gotten worse. ISIS announced the 
establishment of a Libyan affiliate at the end of 2014 and soon began 
consolidating its power around Sirte and expanding east, west, and 
south.
  America should not fool itself into believing that once Sirte is 
liberated the ISIS threat is over. For close to a year now, ISIS has 
been redirecting recruits and even senior leaders to Libya. It has been 
laying the seeds for what many have called a ``fallback Caliphate,'' 
where it could retreat to in case it is pushed out of Syria and Iraq.
  Pentagon estimates from earlier this year suggested that the group's 
ranks in Libya have swelled to nearly 7,000 fighters.
  Liberating Sirte will simply transform the ISIS threat in Libya from 
a concentrated one to a dispersed one. They have fanned out throughout 
the country and will continue to exploit the political mess in Libya.
  Libya will unfortunately remain a terrorist foothold for years to 
come. This is the legacy of the current Administration in North Africa.
  The mess the U.S. have left there has spread throughout the region. 
It endangers Egyptian allies to the east, and the weapons unleashed 
with Qaddafi's fall have fueled terrorism in places like Syria, 
Nigeria, and the Sinai Peninsula bordering Israel.
  The United States' airstrike campaign in support of the Libyan forces 
retaking Sirte is only a small step. Until the U.S. can devise a truly 
comprehensive long-term strategy to stabilize Libya and defeat the 
terrorist groups hiding there, Libya will continue to threaten regional 
and international security. Treating the symptoms while ignoring the 
underlying disease will not solve the problem.
  The U.S. forcibly overthrew a regime in Libya, creating chaos that 
led to a failed state where terrorists flourished and thousands of 
Libyans died. The U.S. now has a responsibility to work towards a 
stabilizing solution in Libya. Going forward, the U.S. should be much 
more cautious before it helps overthrow another regime.

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