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Wednesday, June 15, 2011

War Powers and Libya

The latest news on the War Powers act and Libya is that Speaker of the House John Boehner has written to president Obama to inform him that he needs to seek the approval of Congress for continuing action in Libya by Sunday or he will be in violation of the law. At the same time a bipartisan group of Congressmen are suing over the violation of the War Powers Act.

Boehner's letter is a good idea. It puts the issue squarely into Obama's lap and should force him to explain the mission in Libya including the national interest of the USA that is at stake.

The lawsuit, on the other hand, is nonsense. Will there really be a federal judge who declares the Libya mission illegal and orders the president to end it? The chance of that is extremely slim. It is too much a political question. The proper remedy for an illegal war in Libya is not a lawsuit. It is impeachment of the president, something that will never happen. Alternatively, Congress could vote to cut off funds for the war in Libya, but that is highly unlikely as well.

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