By Keegan Gibson, Managing Editor

In his response to Barack Obama’s speech on Libya last night, Senator Bob Casey echoed the President’s measured approach and emphasized the limited scope of the engagement.

“I support the action taken by the U.S., our NATO partners and the Arab League to prevent the killing of tens of thousands of Libyan civilians,” Casey said in a statement.  “Now that the U.S. has established the conditions for a no fly zone, I support the expeditious transfer of lead responsibility to NATO…”

Casey also joined the growing chorus of voices calling for more active support for the internationally imposed no-fly-zone, especially from Arab countries.

“This burden must be shared more broadly.  To date, only U.A.E. and Qatar from the Arab League have contributed to the military effort. The Arab League has unique and important responsibilities in Libya – I call upon its member countries to play a more active and constructive role by contributing financially to the effort.”

Casey is the Chairman of the Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs Subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which oversees several aspects of America’s policy toward Libya, North Africa and the Middle East.

U.S. Rep Tim Murphy (R-Allegheny), often mentioned as a potential 2012 challenger to Casey, responded with strong criticism of the President.

“We heard the US will not engage in regime change, yet the President has committed America to a seat at the table with Libyan opposition forces to discuss, by his own words, supporting a transition to the future in Libya,” Murphy said of Obama. “He further elaborated on US involvement in building a new government, however, given reports that rebel forces include Al Qaeda, how can we be certain we will not be replacing a dictator with another bloody and brutal regime? This is made all the more worrisome for the American people by the fact that we have no idea who the leaders will be, who they represent, and what sort of government they will back.”

Here is Casey’s entire statement:

Casey Statement on President’s Address on Libya

WASHINGTON, DC— U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), Chairman of the Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs Subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement on the President’s speech on U.S. engagement in Libya:

“I support the action taken by the U.S., our NATO partners and the Arab League to prevent the killing of tens of thousands of Libyan civilians.  Now that the U.S. has established the conditions for a no fly zone, I support the expeditious transfer of lead responsibility to NATO and the non-military measures that the administration has taken to sustain pressure on the Libyan regime, such as the freeze of Qaddafi’s assets and international sanctions.

“This burden must be shared more broadly.  To date, only U.A.E. and Qatar from the Arab League have contributed to the military effort. The Arab League has unique and important responsibilities in Libya – I call upon its member countries to play a more active and constructive role by contributing financially to the effort.

“We also need to be honest about the evolving role of the U.S. moving forward.  The U.S. has the most substantial military in NATO and we will likely incur some additional expenditure by participating in this continued engagement.  We need to take a close look at these costs and weigh them against our continued missions in Afghanistan and Iraq as well as our commitments to vital domestic interests.  The Senate has an important oversight role to play and I look forward to pressing administration officials on these issues in the weeks ahead.”