From The Desk of Congressman Gary Ackerman

Like so many Americans, I have been simultaneously amazed at the courage and determination of the Libyan people to recover their freedom and disgusted by the vicious and barbaric efforts by Qaddafi and his allies to preserve their tyranny by waging war against the Libyan people. 

The Obama Administration has rightfully come out for Qaddafi’s immediate departure from power and has worked aggressively with international partners to impose tough financial sanctions, to provide humanitarian relief and to safeguard American citizens who were in Libya. I applaud the steps taken by the Administration and by the UN Security Council to hold Qaddafi and his regime accountable for the utterly inexcusable and criminal acts they have perpetrated against the Libyan people. 

A wave of freedom is blowing through the Middle East and the United States must stand with the people of the region who are demanding nothing more than the political and civil rights we Americans enjoy everyday: the right to free speech and assembly, equality before the law and a government accountable to the people who elect it. 

We cannot know how this wave of change will reshape the region. All we can do is to embrace the challenge of rapid change, stay true to the timeless values on which our country was founded and reach out with an open hand to people who are throwing off the yoke of autocracy and tyranny.

U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-NY), the Ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia.