The War Of Libya And The Operation Lasted More Than 60 Days

On August 7th 1964 the United States Congress passed into law the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution which, for all intents and purposes, officially brought the United States into the Vietnam War. Following this resolution, a draft was instated to increase the number of men that could be sent to war. Shortly after men started to be signed into conscription for the United States Military, a public outcry started over the use of a draft to increase military size. The draft was found to be unfair to American Citizens because certain groups of men were severely disadvantaged, the draft was illegal in many ways, and veteran’s future lives were harmed, among other reasons.

The authority of the Judiciary—Article III—enables the Supreme Court to rule on all laws and treaties, enabling the branch to oversee and regulate the powers of war. “It is virtually impossible to discuss the national security enterprise without discussing the role of the U.S. Supreme Court.” During the 190 years from the signing of the constitution, to the War Powers Act of 1973, the influence of the Supreme Court greatly enhanced the precedent of executive powers.

Decisions that presidents had made previously with little congressional participation. Under Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof. Congress is granted responsibility for caring out their powers as well as all other powers in the Constitution. This gives them the constitutional right to establish certain procedural implements for war proceedings. Thus, the central purpose of the War Powers Resolutions to restrain the president from unilaterally deploying U.S. Armed Forces. Constant with this intent, legislation imposed the president to report and consult with congress. More notably, it provides congressional supervision by permitting congress to force troop

S. troops to Southeast Asia without Congressional approval, Congress responded by passing the War Powers Resolution in 1973. The War Powers Resolution requires that the President communicate to Congress about the committal of troops within 48 hours. Further, the statute requires the President to remove all troops after 60 days if Congress has not granted an extension.

The War Powers Act limits the power of the President of the United States to wage war without the approval of the Congress. The War Powers Act is also known as The War Powers Resolution. The purpose of the War Powers Resolution is to ensure that Congress and the President share in making decisions that may get the United States involved in hostilities. It prohibits the President from waging war beyond 60 days without the Congressional approval (MILNET: The War Powers Act of 1973). Authorization can be made in many forms such as a temporary waiver of the Act or via a Declaration of War (MILNET: The War Powers Act of 1973).

The Constitution is supposed to divide war powers between the president and Congress, but in today’s society that has not always been the case. We live in a country with competing views, but our Constitution was created through disagreement. While the Constitution is a source of cherished and unifying political ideas, it can provoke some of the most intense quarrels because of its principles and protections. It is also debated and applied to present circumstances daily. To get back to the presidential power argument, President Barack Obama sent United States military into combat without the consent from Congress. “As a presidential candidate in 2007, Senator Obama stated, “The President does not have power under the constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation” (Yoo). President Barack Obama announced four years later, that he was acting on his constitutional authority to conduct U.S. foreign relations as the commander in chief/chief executive by the intervention with Libya. Throughout our history, neither presidents nor Congress have carried out the beliefs that the constitution requires a declaration of war before the U.S can allow for the military to act. “We have forced abroad more than 100 times but declared war in only five cases: The War of 1812, the

LBJ also set a precedent for sidelining Congress in the decision about whether to go to war—a decision that the Constitution explicitly gave to the legislature, not the president. In 1973, Congress tried to hit back with the War Powers Resolution, written to reassert its constitutional prerogative. But, as Maddow shows, that idea has been kicked around by every president from Ronald Reagan (Grenada) to Bill Clinton (the Balkans) to the Georges Bush (Saddam) to Barack Obama (Libya). Congress doesn’t declare war, and the president sends the troops anyway.

The War Powers Resolution of 1973 also know simple as the War Powers Act states the President must notify Congress within a 48 hour time frame that he is sending troops into military combat. The act does not allow military solders from remaining in a state of conflict for more than 60 days. After 60 days the President must ask Congress again for authorization.

The War Powers Resolution is considered a law created by the government to check that the president’s power is in line and he doesn’t authorize any armed conflict without the agreement of the congress. The law was passed by the Congress on November 7, 1973 and became widely used to prevent unneeded conflict. This resolution was considered a way to prevent future wars but the president’s found the act offensive as an undermining of their authority. There are many things that the president can’t do without the congress's consent. First is that the president and the congress have to both has the same idealistic views when impacting hostiles with armed forces. Next is that congress has the right to move armed forces into enemy territory where as

The War Powers Resolution passed through the whole legislative process in six months from when it was introduced to the day it was signed into law. The veto voting took place quickly and effectively. The first five months the bill was debated and researched in Congress, but after sending it to the president it took under a month for it to become a law. This law was necessary to add an additional check to Nixon because of his highly unpopular involvement in the Vietnam War. This law helped to make sure the president was not doing whatever he wanted, but “one former US Senator noted in 2008 that no President had ever submitted the precise kinds of reports to Congress required by the Act despite the US’s involvement in numerous armed conflicts” (Nixon 7). Although it became a law and has had some success, the exact provisions are not being followed. The benefits seem to outweigh the costs because, following Nixon’s actions there was great distrust of the government and this attempts to limit the shady deals and actions of the President. Many presidents have opposed the law, but its main impact was a check on the

became concerned with the “abuse” of this power, particularly those executed by former Presidents Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon (288). This concern emerged during the Vietnam and Korean wars when the United States was in great conflict with the nations without a formal Declaration of War by Congress. In an effort to limit the President’s power, Congress passed the War Powers Resolution which established guidelines for the executive during times of conflict. The Resolution requires the President to alert Congress of his intentions to commit forces. However, the President must withdraw forces within 60 days unless Congress declares war, grants special authorization, extends the 60 day period, or is unable to physically meet as a result of an armed attack against the United States (288). The President is provided the power to extend the 60 day period if he determines that doing so is necessary for the safety and

Prior to the War Powers Act, President Harry Truman, rather than seek Congressional declaration, used his constitutional power as commander in chief to commit troops to the Korean War. Congress had no say in whether this war would be fought. Along with this, the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin Resolution gave Presidents Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon the power to “take all necessary measures … to prevent further aggression[iv].” This gave the presidents complete control over the war despite the Congresses eventual division, who could do nothing about it. These incidents caused Congress to decide that the Framers did not intend for the president to have this kind of war making power, so they passed the War Powers Act on November 7th, 1973, right after the Vietnam War.

“Congress has a portion of the war power because the members of Congress come from the several states and have close ties to all the people. The idea was that by splitting up the war power, the country would not go to war unless both constituencies – meaning the whole country – supported war.”("Understanding the Constitution of the United States"). Only way for a war to happen is if congress deems it reasonable, subordinating the executive branch.

The French initiated military action against Libya on March 19, 2011, with NATO taking over operational control of the action on March 25, 2011. Again, under the leadership of NATO, air power was deployed to stop human rights abuses on the ground. This time, the use of force was authorized by the UN Security Council. NATO’s intervention came in the form of an air campaign—the so-called operation “Unified Protector”--which targeted Libyan air defense capabilities, government facilities, military facilities, and military troop formations on the ground without contemplating a follow-on ground campaign.

President Obama was clear in his intentions about why he decided to intervene in Libya due to the chaos, Obama states, “We knew that if we waited one more day, Benghazi – a city nearly the size of Charlotte – could suffer a massacre that would have reverberated across the region and stained the conscience of the world.” President Obama makes a rational decision for the safety of the Libyan people and the American peoples trust, with the UN backing his decision. On the other hand, George Bush sent troops into Iraq to look for weapons of mass destruction without the permission of the UN; I believe he sent troops in after the twin towers were dropped as a form of retaliation on Iraq. George Bush states in his speech, “Our nation enters this conflict reluctantly, yet our purpose is sure. The people of the United States and our friends and allies will not live at the mercy of an outlaw regime that threatens the peace with weapons of mass murder”. How was he sure of the weapons of mass destruction? My answer is he was not; he had no evidence of such. This is a perfect example on how our country has wasted so much money on war. Should we waste more on Libya? No we shouldn’t with the war on Iraq comes trillions of American dollars fighting for a false cause and murder of American soldiers still. In the words of Joe miller “The ISG report was sufficient to convince the Bush administration that there were no WMDs (Weapons of Mass