WASHINGTON — The Obama administration argued Wednesday that its nearly three-month military involvement in Libya does not require congressional approval due to the supporting role most U.S. forces are playing there, a position that puts it at odds with Republican congressional leaders and the anti-war wing of its own party.
The White House argument, included in a 32-page report to Congress released Wednesday, is the administration’s first detailed response to complaints from lawmakers of both parties, who say President Barack Obama has exceeded his authority as commander in chief by waging war in Libya without congressional authorization.
The demand that Obama secure congressional approval to continue the Libya operation has brought together House Republicans and liberal Democrats, some of whom joined in a federal lawsuit to stop U.S. participation in the war.
The administration’s report is unlikely to appease Congressional leaders concerned over Obama’s strategy in Libya or the rising costs of the war, one of three the administration is fighting in Muslim nations at a time of fiscal strain at home.
But senior administration officials say Obama’s Libya actions have been “consistent” with the War Powers Resolution, passed by Congress in 1973 in an attempt to constrain a president’s war-making capabilities after the undeclared conflicts in Vietnam and Korea.
“We’re not engaged in any of the activities that typically over the years in war powers analysis is considered to constitute hostilities within the meaning of the statute,” said one senior administration official, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity during a conference call arranged by the White House.
“We’re not engaged in sustained fighting. There’s been no exchange of fire with hostile forces. We don’t have troops on the ground. We don’t risk casualties to those troops,” the official continued. “None of the factors, frankly, speaking more broadly, has risked the sort of escalation that Congress was concerned would impinge on its war-making power.”
Under the War Powers Resolution, a president has 60 days from the start of military operations to obtain Congressional authorization or withdraw forces from the fight.
In the case of Libya, that deadline expired last month with the Obama administration failing to do either.
The House voted June 3 to give Obama two weeks to comply with the resolution, a deadline that expires Friday.
In a letter to Obama dated Tuesday, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, wrote that “the ongoing, deeply divisive debate originated with a lack of genuine consultation prior to commencement of operations and has been further exacerbated by the lack of visibility and leadership from you and your administration.”
After taking the lead in destroying Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi’s air-defense capabilities in the early days, U.S. military commanders turned over day-to-day control of the operation to NATO. Obama declared at the start that no U.S. forces would serve on the ground in Libya.
The bulk of the U.S. mission now involves providing aerial surveillance, targeting information, refueling capabilities and other support for British, French and other NATO-member war planes carrying out most of the air strikes.
Obama also deployed drone aircraft used in air strikes. But the administration officials who briefed reporters argued that they are a minor part of what is mostly a support operation.
“There have been numerous instances where the United States has supported or been engaged in some form of military activity, which has not been viewed as rising to the level of hostilities that would have either required an initial report in some cases, or alternatively, would have caused or required the United States to withdraw after the close of the 60-day period,” one senior official said.
The War Powers Resolution has been ignored frequently by past presidents of both parties. Obama, a former constitutional law lecturer, came to office pledging a strict adherence to the rule of law that he accused the George W. Bush administration of violating, most notably in its detention and interrogation policies.
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Wednesday he did not know whether Obama personally believes the law is constitutional, even though as a candidate he asserted that wars fought with Congressional approval were more legally sound.
On Wednesday, 10 House members, led by Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, filed a complaint in federal court against Obama, accusing him of unlawfully embarking on the military campaign in Libya without seeking congressional approval.
In a statement, Kucinich said, “we have asked the courts to move to protect the American people from the results of these illegal policies.”
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