Obama Defends Libyan War in News Conference

Amid the ongoing congressional battle over U.S. involvement in Libya, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 14-5 on June 29 to approve a resolution that would authorize limited military intervention in the war. Of the two parties, four Republicans joined 10 Democrats in voting for the resolution.
Obama Defends Libyan War in News Conference
U.S. President Barack Obama answers reporters questions during a news conference in the East Room of the White House June 29, 2011 in Washington, DC. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
6/29/2011
Updated:
10/1/2015

<a><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/09/OBM117635769.jpg" alt="U.S. President Barack Obama answers reporters questions during a news conference in the East Room of the White House June 29, 2011 in Washington, DC.  (Alex Wong/Getty Images)" title="U.S. President Barack Obama answers reporters questions during a news conference in the East Room of the White House June 29, 2011 in Washington, DC.  (Alex Wong/Getty Images)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-1801663"/></a>
U.S. President Barack Obama answers reporters questions during a news conference in the East Room of the White House June 29, 2011 in Washington, DC.  (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Amid the ongoing congressional battle over U.S. involvement in Libya, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 14-5 on June 29 to approve a resolution that would authorize limited military intervention in the war. Of the two parties, four Republicans joined 10 Democrats in voting for the resolution.

Citing humanitarian concerns as justification for the U.S. military’s operations in that country, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) applauded the bipartisan vote and hailed it as an example of foreign policy unity.

“Today the Committee came together in the spirit of bipartisanship to approve a resolution authorizing the limited use of our armed forces in Libya … the committee demonstrated to the world, and in particular to Muoammar Gadhafi, our commitment to this critical endeavor,” Kerry stated in a press release.

“The United States is strongest when we speak with one voice on foreign policy, and I urge the full Senate to take action as soon as possible,” he added.

The measure, Senate Joint Resolution 20 (S.J. Res. 20), was introduced on June 21 by a bipartisan group of senators led by Kerry and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) A similar resolution was introduced and rejected by the House of Representatives last week, along with a resolution that would remove U.S. military forces from the NATO operation entirely.

The vote followed a hearing earlier in the day that focused on the legality of the Libya operation and the War Powers Resolution. State Department legal adviser Harold Koh argued in the administration’s defense, asserting that the U.S. role in Libya did not amount to “hostilities” as defined in the War Powers Resolution.

Congress passed the War Powers Resolution in 1973 during the Vietnam War. It was intended to limit the executive’s ability to conduct military operations abroad without approval from Congress.

Under the resolution, the president is required to notify Congress within 48 hours of committing forces to military action. The president must withdraw forces after 90 days if Congress does not approve of the mission.

The constitutionality of the War Powers Act has historically been a controversial and unresolved issue; the Supreme Court has never ruled on the subject.

The four dissenting voters, all Republicans, were led by ranking minority member Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) Lugar has consistently been opposed to the administration’s Libya actions.

Before the vote, Lugar argued that the United States should not be intervening in a Libyan civil war in the face of a struggling economy and the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He also criticized the president’s handling of the Libya situation.

“American intervention in Libya did not come as a result of a disciplined assessment of our vital interests or an authorization debate in Congress,” he said. “It is an expensive diversion that leaves the United States and our European allies with fewer assets to respond to other contingencies.”

The final resolution included a number of amendments, notably a bipartisan rebuke of Koh’s legal defense, and barring the use of ground troops in Libya. Lugar proposed another amendment that would have limited U.S. warplanes to nonhostile acts. The committee voted it down.

Despite the bipartisan vote, the dispute over the legality and necessity of the U.S. role in Libya is unlikely to be resolved soon. The resolution will go to the full Senate floor for consideration in July, and would also need to be passed by the House of Representatives in order to become law.

Obama Defends Libya Involvement


In a Wednesday morning news conference, President Obama reiterated his argument that American military actions in Libya did not violate the War Powers Resolution. He also characterized the legislators who are pressing the administration on the issue as being politically motivated.

He described the Libya operation as not only the right thing to do, but in the country’s national security interest:

“Gadhafi, prior to Osama bin Laden, was responsible for more American deaths than just about anybody on the planet, and was threatening to massacre his people, and as part of an international coalition, and under a U.N. mandate that is almost unprecedented, we went in,” he said.

The president also cited support from Sens. Kerry and McCain for S. J. Res. 20 as evidence that the ongoing military involvement in Libya is justified.