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The White House is telling Congress that President Obama has the legal authority to continue American participation in the NATO-led air war in Libya, even though lawmakers have not authorized it. In a broader package of materials the Obama administration is sending to Congress on Wednesday defending its Libya policy, the White House, for the first time, offers lawmakers and the public an argument for why Mr. Obama has not been violating the War Powers Resolution since May 20. On that day, the Vietnam-era law’s 60-day deadline for terminating unauthorized hostilities appeared to pass. But the White House argued that...

House members to sue Obama administration over Libya mission From Deirdre Walsh and Brianna Keilar June 15, 2011 11:45 a.m. EDT Washington (CNN) -- A bipartisan group of House members will file a lawsuit Wednesday challenging U.S. participation in the Libya military mission. Meanwhile, President Barack Obama is set to defend U.S. military involvement in Libya to Congress, according to the White House. The administration will provide a report to address a June 3 House resolution that raised questions about the president's goal in Libya, how he hopes to achieve that goal, why he has not sought congressional authorization for...

OTTAWA — Canada’s involvement in Libya could continue well into the future, Defence Minister Peter MacKay hinted Tuesday during a Parliamentary debate aimed at extending this country’s contribution to the NATO mission there by 3 1/2 months. “Canada needs to continue its commitment to Libya until the terms of UN Security Council Resolution 1973 are met and until NATO’s goals, as agreed upon by our allies and partners, are achieved,” he said. “We must ensure that all attacks and threats of attack against civilians have ended.” The comments came as the government also said it would officially recognize rebels fighting...

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, sent President Obama a letter Tuesday afternoon warning him that the operation in Libya will be violating the War Powers Resolution by this Sunday, which marks the 90th day of U.S. military involvement in the country. Boehner wants "a clear explanation of the legal standing under the War Powers Resolution," that Obama is using to justify continuing the operations behind Sunday. The letter is below. June 14, 2011 Dear Mr. President: Five days from now, our country will reach the 90-day mark from the notification to Congress regarding the commencement of the military operation in...

In December, 2007, the Boston Globe published a Q&A with then-candidate Barack Obama in which the subject of Executive War Powers was addressed. "In what circumstances, if any," Charlie Savage asked, "would the president have constitutional authority to bomb Iran without seeking a use-of-force authorization from Congress?" Mr. Obama's answer was unequivocal in its condemnation of unilateral executive action relating to war: "The President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation. . . . In instances of self-defense,...

Libyan kids help refurbish weapons Forces loyal to embattled Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi launched a new attack on the rebel-held city of Misrata on Wednesday, with anti-government forces reporting intense shelling from three sides of the city. Thousands of government troops attacked around 6 a.m. (11 p.m. Tuesday ET), with 13 rebels reported dead by evening. Mohamed Mokhtar, a rebel fighter wounded in Wednesday's fighting, accused government troops of infiltrating rebel lines in cars bearing rebel flags. Dr. Khaled Abu Falgha, a spokesman for Misrata's Hekma hospital, said it was the bloodiest day in a week in the besieged city....

Somewhere, Richard Nixon is smiling. In 1973, he vetoed the War Powers Act, insisting that it was unconstitutional. Congress overrode him, but almost every one of Nixon’s successors has agreed with his assessment of the resolution. It took Pres. Barack Obama, though, to rip the War Powers Act into little pieces and sprinkle it over his Libyan intervention like the confetti in a premature victory parade. The thrust of the War Powers Act is clear enough: Sixty days after reporting the start of a military intervention, the president must secure congressional authorization or a declaration of war, or remove our...

The White House said Monday that it has an obligation to answer lawmakers’ questions about U.S. involvement in NATO’s mission in Libya, but it wasn’t clear if the administration will comply with a House resolution passed Friday that threatens to withhold funding unless President Obama complies with demands for more information. Press secretary Jay Carney said Mr. Obama hasn’t violated the War Powers Resolution, which calls for the commander in chief to obtain congressional approval if U.S. forces are to be committed to action for longer than 60 days. Mr. Carney said the White House has “consulted” with Congress

House Floor Remarks, June 3rd. M. Speaker: Lets be clear: without prior Congressional authorization, under the War Powers Act, the President may only commit armed forces to hostilities for sixty days if there is a direct attack upon the United States, its territories or possessions or its armed forces. There was none, so there is no sixty day clock and the President’s unprovoked attack on Libya – from Day One – constituted an illegal and unconstitutional act of the highest significance. If the President felt there was moral justification to attack Libya, he was constitutionally required to make his case...

House Floor Remarks, June 3rd M. Speaker: Lets be clear: without prior Congressional authorization, under the War Powers Act, the President may only commit armed forces to hostilities for sixty days if there is a direct attack upon the United States, its territories or possessions or its armed forces. There was none, so there is no sixty day clock and the President’s unprovoked attack on Libya – from Day One – constituted an illegal and unconstitutional act of the highest significance. If the President felt there was moral justification to attack Libya, he was constitutionally required to make his case...

The White House has finally forged a bipartisan consensus in Congress. Unfortunately for President Obama, lawmakers are uniting in opposition to his approach to the ongoing U.S. involvement in the Libyan civil war. Some see the operation as an ill-advised and useless military venture; others argue that Mr. Obama is breaking the law. On Friday the House took up two nonbinding resolutions regarding the Libyan adventure. Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich, Ohio Democrat, called for the withdrawal of all U.S. military support within 15 days. His resolution attracted 148 votes, 87 of which were from Republicans. A second resolution, submitted by...

He’s forcing him to make a decision. And you know how he hates to make decisions. In a resolution to be voted on in the House tomorrow, Boehner is giving the president two weeks – until the Pentagon Appropriations bill comes up – to either:a) Ask for authorization for the military intervention in Libya, orb) Figure out how to disengage the US from the NATO operation in Libya.The resolution states: “The President has not sought, and Congress has not provided, authorization for the introduction or continued involvement of the United States Armed Forces in Libya. Congress has the constitutional prerogative...

In the immortal words of the vice president, this could be a big $%^ing deal: House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, is throwing what one Republican calls “a legal and political hot potato at the President.” In a resolution to be voted on in the House tomorrow, Boehner is giving the president two weeks –until the Pentagon Appropriations bill comes up –to either: a) Ask for authorization for the military intervention in Libya, or b) Figure out how to disengage the US from the NATO operation in Libya. The resolution states: “The President has not sought, and Congress has not provided,...

President Obama could get a second chance to sell Congress on the military operation in Libya, thanks to some last-minute help from an unlikely ally: House Speaker John A. Boehner. On Thursday, with some liberals and conservatives trying to get Congress to force a withdrawal from Libya, Boehner (R-Ohio) offered an alternative. He introduced a resolution that would give Obama 14 more days to make his case. Boehner’s resolution would vent congressional anger, stating that “the president has not sought, and Congress has not provided, authorization” for the operation. It also contains a threat that Congress might cut off funding...

The White House said Thursday that President Obama believes the NATO mission in Libya is succeeding, and he is opposed to ending that mission right now. With a number of Democrats and some Republicans pushing for an end to U.S. involvement in the mission, White House press secretary Jay Carney said the president believes most members agree with the mission. "We believe that the policy is working," Carney said. "We believe the goal the president has is shared by the majority of the members of Congress." Carney said the president has held true to his word that the U.S. would...

House Delays Vote on Resolution to Pull U.S. Forces Out of LibyaWASHINGTON (AP) Posted: 4:08 PM Jun 1, 2011 The House has delayed a vote on a resolution pulling the U.S. military out of Libya. The measure's chief sponsor, Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, says President Barack Obama and the Republican leadership are trying to buy time to build support for the war. In a statement, Kucinich said the GOP leadership told him the vote, slated for Wednesday, had been delayed to obtain more information and consult with the administration. Kucinich says Obama violated the War Powers Act requiring...

Sen. John McCain on Sunday said Libyan civilians are dying in large part because the Obama administration has refused to commit the full weight of the nation’s military to the fight to overthrow strongman Col. Moammar Gadhafi. “This thing could have been over a long time ago,” Mr. McCain, an Arizona Republican who was the party’s 2008 presidential nominee, said on “Fox News Sunday.” (snip) A quicker end to the fighting, which must include the removal of Col. Gadhafi from power, Mr. McCain said, would make it less likely that terrorists would gain a foothold in Libya.

The U.S. House of Representatives will vote next week on a resolution that would require U.S. President Barack Obama to withdraw U.S. armed forces from military operations in Libya, the biggest test yet of congressional support for the two-month-old intervention. An aide to House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R., Va.) said that the resolution would come up for a vote next week. The resolution is written by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D., Ohio), who has been opposed to the intervention since it began in March.

The House on Thursday overwhelmingly voted to prohibit ground troops from being sent to Libya and only narrowly defeated a measure to force President Barack Obama to lay out plans to end the Afghanistan war, in moves that show the limits of congressional support for military involvement in overseas conflicts. The U.S. military's actions on three fronts—Libya, Afghanistan and Iraq—are wearing on the public, polls show, and lawmakers are leery of additional open-ended military commitments amid a severe budget crunch. The killing of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan last month is also adding to the reassessment of...

US PRESIDENT Barack Obama has suggested that military action could end in Libya before Colonel Gaddafi leaves power, amid open acknowledgements of "tactical differences" over the conflict. Standing with the Prime Minister, Mr Obama urged allies "to be more patient" and signalled that the US was all but certain to refuse further requests for additional military hardware. He suggested that while the departure of Colonel Gaddafi was desirable and ultimately inevitable, new "minimum" criteria could be used to decide the end-point of military action. "I do think that is it going to be difficult to meet the UN mandate of...