FACT CHECKING THE BACHSTER

According to POLITICO,  Michele Bachmann "told the nation that Defense Secretary Robert Gates had been unable to identify a vital national security interest in Libya," and I don't recall Gates saying that so I searched LexisNexis, last 6 months, American papers and newswires, GATES, LIBYA, VITAL NATIONAL SECURITY and came up blank.

Changing terms, I did find a statement made by Sec. Clinton on March 1, 2011 before the House Foreign Affairs Committe:

We have joined the Libyan people in demanding that Qaddafi must go--now, without further violence or delay--and we are working to translate the world's outrage into action and results.

Marathon diplomacy at the UN and with our allies has yielded quick, aggressive steps to pressure and isolate Libya's leaders. USAID is focused on Libya's food and medical supplies and dispatching two expert humanitarian teams to help those fleeing the violence into Tunisia and Egypt. Our combatant commands are positioning assets to prepare to support these critical civilian missions. And we are taking no options off the table so long as the Libyan government continues to turn its guns on its own people.

The entire region is changing, and a strong and strategic American response will be essential. In the years ahead, Libya could become a peaceful democracy, or it could face protracted civil war. The stakes are high. And this is an unfolding example of how we use the combined assets of diplomacy, development and defense to protect our interests and advance our values. This integrated approach is not just how we respond to the crisis of the moment. It is the most effective --and cost-effective--way to sustain and advance our security across the world. And it is only possible with a budget that supports all the tools in our national security arsenal--which is what we are here to discuss.

And we are working to open political systems, economies and societies at a remarkable moment in the history of the Middle East and to support peaceful, irreversible democratic transitions in Egypt and Tunisia.

Our progress is significant, but our work is ongoing. These missions are vital to our national security, and now would be the wrong time to pull back.