This is from the New York Times of June 17: “WASHINGTON — President Obama rejected the views of top lawyers at the Pentagon and the Justice Department when he decided that he had the legal authority to continue American military participation in the air war in Libya without Congressional authorization, according to officials familiar with internal administration deliberations. Jeh C. Johnson, the Pentagon general counsel, and Caroline D. Krass, the acting head of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, had told the White House that they believed that the United States military’s activities in the NATO-led air war amounted to “hostilities.” Under the War Powers Resolution, that would have required Mr. Obama to terminate or scale back the mission after May 20.”
The president’s rape of Libya for reasons known only to him since nobody with walking around sense would swallow some kind “compassionate considerations” is now not only a war of choice but one of stark illegality. Without even consulting the Congress, the president, in direct violation of the U.S. Constitution, has commited U.S. military and treasure to what amounts to the inculcating of a “killing field.” First the U.S. and now NATO at Obama’s behest, have been “shooting fish in a barrel,” since the Libyan military is virtually powerless against them.
First advertised as the instituting of a “no-fly zone,” the actions have deteriorated into taking sides in a civil war, with the U.S. and NATO just as responsible for the bloodshed as any group on the ground in Libya. The no-fly zone was accomplished within four days of the first U.S. bomb/missile raid on the hapless Libyans. Now, it appears that the targets are residential neighborhoods, although NATO honchos are condemning Qaddafi for using mosques and play-fields as shields, according to the BBC. What did they expect as they rained death on anything and everything, moving or non-moving?
Defense Secretary Gates and Joint Chiefs Chairman Mullen both went on the record as advising the president that attacking Libya was a bad idea. When Obama pulled the trigger, Gates was in Russia and termed Obama’s war as something “done on the fly,” meaning with little forethought and even less methodology, since Obama seemed to believe that wars could be won just by bombing the enemy into submission. Since Obama also had no exit strategy or even the definition of an end of hostilities, “on-the-fly” was an even more apt description defining the actions of someone with not even one hour’s experience in the military or, certainly, how and when to even use it.
U.S. Constitution Article I(8): “The Congress shall have power…to declare war.” U.S. War Powers Act, 1973, Section 3: “The President in every possible instance shall consult with Congress before introducing United States Armed Forces into hostilities or into situation where imminent involvement in hostilities is clearly indicated by the circumstances, and after every such introduction shall consult regularly with the Congress until United States Armed Forces are no longer engaged in hostilities or have been removed from such situations.” Then comes the requirement cited in the article above concerning Congressional authorization, scaling back or getting out altogether.
From the get-go, Obama has engaged in what amounts to terrorist activities, the killing of civilians. Libya, population two million less than that of New York City, has never posed a threat to this nation, has never attacked it, and has a military of only 76,000 troops, as opposed to the U.S. contingent of 1.6 million active duty and about 3 million altogether. There was not one American interest abused or one American citizen in danger in Libya at any time this year. There was not one reason for Obama’s war, no matter what he claims. His job is to protect the interests and welfare of American citizens…ONLY. Meddling in the affairs of other nations without a compelling reason is not the president’s business.
It’s probable that no U.S. president has ever been as unprepared for office as Barack Obama. Even worse, it’s doubtful that any president has ever learned less on the job once in office. Obama has reverted to the monarchical model in his presidency, having appointed 35-40 czars (no one knows how many) answerable only to him in setting up regulations designed to run the country into the tank. The latest regulations, designed to put coal-fired generating-plants out of business or make electricity rates “skyrocket” (as he promised in his campaign), or both, has just been awarded a two-month abeyance. Apparently, someone has reminded him of November 2012.
Only a socialist/communist/fascist leader could have the arrogance of instituting his own war. This is something Hitler did in the 1930s-40s. The American GIs lacking any provocations by Libya but dropping bombs on ordinary citizens anyway deserve better than to be ordered to commit such atrocities. One wonders where the Congress is. Sadly, Congress probably wonders where it is, too.
And so it goes.
Jim Clark
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