1. Libyan citizens begged us to intervene.
2. The Arab League asked us to intervene.
3. Key European allies asked us to intervene.
4. The UN Security Counsel approved intervention.
5. We are providing a support role with other countries taking the lead. Rep. Kucinich lists the materiel that we are providing the majority of. What he fails to mention is that France and England are actually spending more money than us in Libya, not just as a percentage of GDP, but in actual dollars.
6. Qaddaffi was ruthlessly suppressing the people of Libya who were protesting his oppressive regime, he was about 24 hours away from invading the center of unrest and was threatening to go door to door murdering everyone who had defied him. Had we waited even an additional 24 hours to intervene, tens of thousands of Libyans would likely have been slaughtered.
7. This is all happening in the context of the Arab Spring. Qaddafi's actions were worse than the actions of any of the other oppressive regimes in the region. Had he been successful using his brutal tactics, he would have provided a template for other leaders.
8. The President made a commitment to support our allies in this conflict and it is important that we keep that commitment.
9. a) Our domestic problems pale in significance in comparison to the problems faced by the Libyan people; be our domestic situation will not be significantly improved by withdrawal.
10. Remember Rwanda? Would it have been worth it to spend $270 million to stop the genocide?
2:10 PM PT: Quick update: What "political solution" was there? Qaddafi was just going to butcher people until he had reestablished control and was satisfied that his point had been made.