"What needs to be done at this point is a call by the president or the vice president for a special session of Congress to inform us and to ask our position on this matter," said Rangel during a press briefing Monday afternoon at the State Office Building."Obama is going along with past presidents and the United Nations, which is 90 percent [influenced by] the U.S. At the end of the day we pay the price physically and financially."
"When they say we should get rid of Gaddafi, who is the 'we'"? Rangel went on. "Yes, we should have compassion for the rebels, but should we have a number of sleepless nights worrying about getting rid of Gaddafi? I don't like the idea of his being taken out."
The corrupt congressman wouldn't support Kucinich's call for impeachment. "I'll leave that alone," Rangel responded. And he used a story from his past to avoid Louis Farrakhan's idea of sending a diplomatic team of prominent black Americans to meet with Gaddafi.
"I was in Tanzania at the time of its independence, and I was asked by some of the leaders, 'What brings you to our country? Are you also made in America like so many of the bombs falling on our people?' It dawned on me, from their perspective, that color had nothing at all to do with the situation."
Rangel has again introduced, for the fifth time he said, a Universal National Service Act. It calls for a universal requirement for national service. "If you enjoy the benefits of our democracy, then you should be willing and required to contribute to its defense," Rangel said. "We make decisions about war without worry over who fights them. Those who do the fighting have no choice."