House Rejects U.S. Role in Libya

[tekisui]

Source: Wall Street Journal

WASHINGTON—The House on Friday voted against authorizing U.S. participation in a military campaign in Libya, opposing President Barack Obama's decision to commit resources without congressional approval.

The House voted 295-123 to reject the resolution. Almost six dozen Democrats joined Republicans to challenge Mr. Obama. The American president joined the international campaign in March to stop Col. Moammar Gadhafi from massacring civilians.

Antiwar liberals and conservative Republicans say that Mr. Obama needs authorization from Congress to continue the U.S. role. The White House has said that it doesn't need congressional approval because the American role doesn't rise to the level of hostilities that would trigger the War Powers Resolution, the Vietnam-era law intended to check the president's war powers.

The congressional authorization would have given Mr. Obama the approval to continue its role in the NATO-led effort. Administration officials have said that role consists mostly of aerial refueling and intelligence gathering, though the U.S. has also used drones to neutralize Libyan air defenses that threaten allied planes.

more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304569504576405622532387708.html

[John Paul Jones]

1. Yes...! Now, stop funding it immediately.

Let the Europeans worry about European oil.

[GSLevel9]

10. agreed 101% nt

[damntexdem]

2. I support the Libya intervention, but Congressional authority should be respected.

When Congress disapproves, we should stop doing whatever fighting we've gotten into.

[JimGinPA]

4. Congress Only Disapproves When The President's A Democrat nt

[John Paul Jones]

5. Tell that to the Viet Nam veterans...

[inna]

9. So do the neocons.

Neoconservatives Urge House Republicans Not To Cut Funding For Libya Mission

Three prominent neoconservatives are circulating a letter to House Republicans calling on them to continue funding military operations in Libya despite concerns about the evasion of the War Powers Act. The letter – authored by Bill Kristol, Elliot Abrams, and Robert Kagan – warns GOP lawmakers that cutting funding would be “an abdication of our responsibilities as an ally and as the leader of the Western alliance.” The letter goes on to defend American intervention in Libya and criticizes the White House for doing “too little to achieve the goal of removing Qaddafi from power.”

http://thinkprogress.org/security/2011/06/17/247865/neoconservatives-urge-house-republicans-not-to-cut-funding-for-libya-mission/

[demosincebirth]

3. Who would have guessed that the republicans would be against it.

[inna]

8. they'd be against anything a Democratic president is for, so...

It doesn't really mean anything. Purely reflexive knee-jerk reaction; they'd vote for it in a second if Obama had an R after his name.

[demosincebirth]

12. My point, exactly.

[gratuitous]

6. We're not at war

And if you can't believe the guys firing off the missiles and dropping the bombs to tell you the truth, who can you trust? You know? We're just refueling stuff and gathering intelligence. Oh yeah, we also "neutralized" some air defenses. Seems the Libyan government doesn't much appreciate all the bombing runs and they have the temerity to shoot back at some of the planes that aren't attacking them, so stop saying that, because we're not involved in a war. Who are you going to believe, anyway: A Nobel Peace Prize laureate or your lying eyes? Have your eyes won the Nobel Peace Prize? Then shut up!

[John Paul Jones]

14. The fact that those guys and gals can look at the camera and tell us this is not a war

should make it clear to everyone that they think we are fools.

I wonder if John McCain would think it was a war if somebody launched a few cruise missiles into Arizona?

[inna]

7. Interesting. Bipartisan opposition to war (of course, the repugs oppose it for entirely

wrong reasons, just to spite Obama, but still... )


So, what's the next step? Is the Senate going to vote on it next?

[GSLevel9]

13. not really

you have the McCain NEOCON group that love war and the new "Libertarian-ish" pubs that are more isolationist

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

11. Good. Now defund it and the rest of "necessary" lost wars.