The tumbling of Moammar Gadhafi’s regime represents a victory not only for Libya but also the Middle East and the world, according to Republican U.S. Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham, who had been strong advocates of U.S. military intervention in the six-month conflict.
"Americans can be proud of the role our country has played in helping to defeat Gadhafi," the senators said in a statement released late Sunday night. "But we regret that this success was so long in coming due to the failure of the United States to employ the full weight of our airpower."
But the GOP senators also criticized Obama's handling of the uprising. For one thing, Obama had limited U.S. military involvement to carrying out the early rounds of airstrikes before pulling back to a support role and refused to send in U.S. ground troops.
McCain has said a stronger showing of U.S. air power could have shortened the conflict dramatically.
"Americans can be proud of the role our country has played ... but we regret that this success was so long in coming due to the failure of the United States to employ the full weight of our airpower,” the McCain-Graham statement said.
Now, the United States "must lead the international community to provide the support that our Libyan friends need,” they said.
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