On Wednesday, Speaker of the House
John Boehner (R-OH), in a
letter to President
Barack Obama, called on the administration to “provide the American people and Congress a clear and robust assessment of the scope, objective, and purpose of our mission in Libya and how it will be achieved.” Boehner provided the president with a list of questions which he believes must be answered including the “contradiction” between the stated goal of the administration —
Muammar Gadhafi‘s removal from power– and that of the U.N. resolution. On Wednesday, Senator
Richard Lugar (R-IN), Ranking Member on the Foreign Relations Committee, called for congressional hearings on the mission in Libya in a
letter to the Committee Chairman Senator
John Kerry (D-MA): “In my judgment, hearings on Libya are especially vital because the Obama Administration did not consult meaningfully with Congress before initiating military operations. Members have not yet had an opportunity to question the Administration on its policy goals or its diplomatic and military strategy.”
Senators
Rand Paul (R-KY) and
Mike Lee (R-UT) also
expressed concerns that Obama’s actions in Libya may violate the constitution given the lack of Congressional debate and approval for this level U.S. military involvement. Meanwhile, Senators
Dick Durbin (D-IL),
Carl Levin (D-MI) and
Jack Reed (D-RI)
voiced support for the President’s actions in Libya and stated that given the limited nature of the conflict and support of international community, he believes Senators would support the mission in Libya if they were to vote on it.
Update: Senator
John Thune (R-SD)
argued that President
Barack Obama did not need the consent of Congress before ordering U.S. military to attack forces and military installations controlled by Gadhafi and will only need to do so if the fight becomes protracted: “You have to reserve to your commander in chief the authority to act in emergencies.”
March 24th, 2011 by Naureen
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