Is President Obama breaking the law in Libya?
Both the White House and congressional leaders appear eager to avoid that question — five days after Obama missed a legal deadline for obtaining Congress’s permission for military operations there.
Follow how events are unfolding in Libya.
But during a House hearing on Wednesday, legislators from both parties blasted Obama for appearing to disregard the 1973 War Powers Resolution.
Their criticism was the latest sign that Obama may not be able to avert a debate over the Nixon-era law — a key rule that spells out how America should go to war — simply by ignoring it.
“The undeniable conclusion is that the president is breaking the law by continuing the unilateral offensive war against Libya,” said Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.), a conservative freshman testifying before the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Amash has proposed a bill that would cut off funding for U.S. efforts in Libya until Obama obtains congressional authorization.
“The tragedy, for our system of self-government, would be if Congress continued to do nothing,” he said.
Friday was the 60th day since Obama notified Congress that U.S. forces were joining in attacks on Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi. Under the War Powers Resolution, he was supposed to obtain Congress’s authorization by that point or stop the operation.
He did neither. Instead, Obama sent a letter to Congress urging that it pass a resolution of support. The Senate is considering such a resolution, but it won’t be voted on until after the week-long Memorial Day recess.
Other NATO members are conducting most of the airstrikes in Libya, while U.S. forces are flying the bulk of the missions related to reconnaissance, surveillance and refueling. In all, American aircraft account for about a quarter of the roughly 150 missions flown each day by NATO forces.
The White House and the Pentagon have said repeatedly that they will not deploy U.S. ground troops or trainers to Libya.
On Wednesday, Obama said NATO will continue to pressure Gaddafi with military attacks.
“I believe that we have built enough momentum that as long as we sustain the course that we are on that he is ultimately going to step down,” he said, speaking in London alongside British Prime Minister David Cameron.
‘Discussions continue’
On Capitol Hill, the Libyan operation has brought about a rare political moment. Republican and Democratic leaders, who agree on little else, seem united in their desire to not say much about the War Powers Resolution.
“We’ve had good discussions on Libya,” Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) said in a news conference Tuesday. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) also was noncommittal: “Discussions continue.”
White House officials, too, have sought to play down the importance of the deadline. Asked whether the president still has the authority to continue operations in Libya, Obama spokesman Ben Rhodes did not mention the resolution specifically.
“I think we addressed that through the letter the president sent up to Congress at the end of last week, again reaffirming our ongoing efforts in Libya,” Rhodes said. “So we believe we have the authorities we need.”
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