President Obama failed to seek a declaration of war before ordering US attacks on Libya/The Nation

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

Oh, wait...circumventing congress to start another FUBAR war is only a bad thing when Republicans do it.

http://www.thenation.com/blog/160051/war-powers-challenge-obamas-libya-project?rel=emailNation

Now, he faces a challenge under the War Powers Resolution.

By any reasonable reading of the Constitution, that was a violation of the provision in the founding document that requires the executive to attain authorization from Congress before launching military adventures abroad. But presidents have skirted that requirement in recent decades by claiming that the 1973 War Powers Resolution—an act originally intended to constrain presidential war-making—affords them the freedom to fight first and consult Congress later.

The War Powers Resolution, enacted in the late stages of the Vietnam War over a veto by President Richard Nixon, requires the commander-in-chief to notify Congress within forty-eight hours of committing armed forces to military action that he or she determines is necessary in the face of “a national emergency created by attack upon the United States, its territories or possessions, or its armed forces.” The resolution also forbids armed forces from remaining in action for more than sixty days without Congressional authorization of the use of military force.

That’s not supposed to be a blank check from White House wars of whim, even if successive presidents have relied on self-serving interpretations of the law to lauch and maintain military endeavors.

This week, however, a leading critic of the Libya mission, Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich, is planning to introduce legislation—pursuant to the War Powers Resolution—that will assert the constitutional responsibility of Congress to make decisions about declaring war.

[slipslidingaway]

1. knr nt

[walldude]

2. Hang in there, a number of brilliant DU'ers

will be around soon to explain why Libya is exempt from the WPR.

I think it will have something to do with NATO or the UN.

[leftstreet]

3. But, but NATO! UN! Congress they signed this thing and and and and

K&R

[Baclava]

4. But it's not a war....it's a "kinetic military action"

...or so they say

[slipslidingaway]

5. OLC Memo as Time Machine

http://static1.firedoglake.com/28/files/2011/04/110401-Krass-Libya-Memo.pdf

"The President had the constitutional authority to direct the use of military force in Libya because he could reasonably determine that such use of force was in the national interest.

Prior congressional approval was not constitutionally required to use military force in the limited operations under consideration..."

http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2011/04/08/olc-memo-as-time-machine/

"I’m going to have more to say about the Libya memo the Administration released yesterday. But I just wanted to point out something about the structure of it.

Here’s the first paragraph:

This memorandum memorializes advice this Office provided to you, prior to the commencement of recent United States military operations in Libya, regarding the President’s legal authority to conduct such operations. For the reasons explained below, we concluded that the President had the constitutional authority to direct the use of force in Libya because he could reasonably determine that such use of force was in the national interest. We also advised that prior congressional approval was not constitutionally required to use military force in the limited operations under consideration.

This is not the advice authorizing the Libyan engagement. Rather, it is a document written the day after–the memo notes–the Administration turned over control to NATO, claiming to memorialize the advice given before the Libyan engagement (therefore, presumably, before March 19)..."