Political Notebook

Walz 'cautiously optimistic' about military action in Libya

In an interview yesterday, 1st District Rep. Tim Walz said he remains hopeful that the U.S.'s military action in Libya may soon come to an end. He said he has heard that a deal to remove Muammar Gaddafi as Libya's leader could come very soon.

In the meantime, he said it is critical that the U.S.'s involvement remain limited.

"This is going to be determined by the Libyan people themselves, and I think our engagement needs to be very narrow, it needs to be very defined and it needs to have a clear out time," he said.

Walz, the highest-ranking enlisted soldier to ever serve in Congress, said he has been attending classified briefings about America's support for the no-fly zone over Libya. He does not support the idea of arming rebels in the country. He said past wars have show that sometimes these rebels can later become your enemies.

 "I am very, very wary of arming these rebels, going any further than this. I think our ability to protect civilians, to provide some room in there to negotiate an end to this dictatorship and then to move forward is where it’s at," he said.

Walz backs repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell

1st District DFL Rep. Tim Walz took to the U.S. House floor yesterday to lend his support for lifting the military's ban on gays serving in the military known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." You can watch video of the speech here.

During his one minute speech he said that "I have no doubt that the brave men and women who serve our country have the professionalism to end this discriminatory policy. I am offended by the idea and the notion that they are not able to handle change in policy."

Walz went on to argue that he believes the ban hurts America's military.

"This discriminatory policy is hurting our military readiness and weakining our nation such as releasing dozens of Arabic linguists simply because they were homosexual. Serving in the military we believe in duty, honor and country and asking these brave people to lie goes against all of our values," he said.

The House voted yesterday 250 to 175 in favor of lifting the ban. The measure now heads to the U.S. Senate but it is unclear whether there will be time in the lame duck session to take it up. Among the Minnesota delegation, those voting in favor of lifting the ban were four Democrats — Rep. Keith Ellison, Rep. Betty McCollum, Rep. Jim Oberstar and Walz. Voting against lifting the ban were three Republicans — Rep. Michele Bachmann, Rep. John Kline and Rep. Erik Paulsen — and one Democrat — Rep. Collin Peterson.

I put in a request with Kline's office for a statement from him about why he opposed lifting the ban. When I get it, I will post that on the blog.