Congressional criticism of Obama's actions in Libya escalated Tuesday, as Democrats and Republicans joined forces to demand the President fulfill his Constitutional obligations regarding the use of military force.
“The United States does not have a king’s army,” Congressman Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD) said in a statement on Monday, calling the President's actions "an affront to our Constitution.” Bartlett is a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee.
Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, said the President does not have the constitutional authority to unilaterally conduct military operations in Libya. According to The Hill:
"While the legislative and executive branches have long grappled over the exact division of powers in times of war, the Constitution grants sole authority to the Congress to commit the nation to battle in the first instance,” he said in a statement Monday night. “That decision is one of the most serious that we are called upon to make and we should never abdicate this responsibility to the President.
“I therefore join my colleagues on both sides of the aisle in calling for an immediate session of Congress to review United States military engagement in Libya.”
Even those in the middle are criticizing the President for his actions. According to the Bangor Daily News:
U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe took President Barack Obama to task Tuesday for not involving Congress more deeply in the decision to commit U.S. forces in Libya.
“Given our extensive involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan, where we’re already stretched thin, now to be drawn into another international conflict …” the Maine Republican said.
Snowe said Obama has failed to provide Congress with the full picture of mission objectives and an exit strategy for Libya.
“He should be consulting with Congress,” Snowe said bluntly. “It raises concerns overall.”
Initially, the action was designed to support a no-fly zone, but the mission appears to change with the wind.
The Administration suggested Tuesday the goal of the action in Libya is regime change and "installing a democratic system", even though the President and the Pentagon originally said the goal was not to remove Gadhafi from power. The Hill reports:
According to a White House readout of a Monday night call between Obama and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the two leaders "underscored their shared commitment to the goal of helping provide the Libyan people an opportunity to transform their country, by installing a democratic system that respects the people’s will."
In a letter to Congress, President Obama wrote:
Qadhafi’s continued attacks and threats against civilians and civilian populated areas are of grave concern to neighboring Arab nations and, as expressly stated in U.N. Security Council Resolution 1973, constitute a threat to the region and to international peace and security. His illegitimate use of force not only is causing the deaths of substantial numbers of civilians among his own people, but also is forcing many others to flee to neighboring countries, thereby destabilizing the peace and security of the region. Left unaddressed, the growing instability in Libya could ignite wider instability in the Middle East, with dangerous consequences to the national security interests of the United States.
The letter, however, makes no mention of "regime change", nor does it speak to "installing democracy." It does reference the U.N. resolution and claims his actions are part of a "discreet" effort to support a no-fly zone.
White House press secretary Jay Carney claimed the U.S. military mission - protecting civilians - has not changed, and also noted Obama's remark Monday that Gadhafi is no longer fit to lead Libya.
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