It’s now almost two months since the sternest congressional resolution against Obama’s war in Libya and against the pathetic legal argument employed to circumvent the War Powers Resolution failed, losing out to John Boehner’s resolution asking Obama to pretty please explain himself. No additional resolutions have been drafted and efforts to prohibit funds towards the war effort have fizzled down to nothingness. The contrast between the relative uproar in the weeks after the initiation of force and the quiet subordination of now is really something to behold. It’s as if high crimes and misdemeanors committed by our nation’s highest officials are statutorily promoted to “legally permissible” after a few months. Criminality of those in power have swift expiration dates. Wars, however, do not.
One effort is technically still pending. That is the lawsuit that ten Congress members filed against the Obama administration for taking the country to war illegally. But according to a just-released Congressional Research Service report, these efforts are historically not fruitful:
[O]n eight occasions [“which concerned U.S. military activities in El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Grenada; military action taken during the Persian Gulf conflict between Iraq and Iran; U.S. activities in response to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait (prior to the congressional authorization); and U.S. participation in NATO’s action in Kosovo and Yugoslavia”] Members of Congress have filed suit to force various Presidents to comply with WPR requirements or otherwise to recognize Congress’s war powers under the Constitution…Although the courts have not ruled out the possibility that a conflict over the use of force between Congress and the President could require a judicial resolution, they have thus far deemed the matter to be one for the political branches to resolve.
So the only effort still ongoing to stop the Executive branch from acting outside the law is likely to be dismissed by the courts on jurisdictional or other grounds, if history is any guide. The entire political class and mainstream media have shifted the focus to the politics of recognizing the rebels as legitimate and rather chaotic, variously contradictory negotiations with them and the Gadhafi regime. Meanwhile, the American people have peaked in their boredom regarding Libya.
I wrote last week about how the national security state “absolutely relies upon the forgetfulness and apathy of the American people.” They certainly seem to be getting what they wished for.
NATO Terrorists are doomed ..
Bombing, hanging, beheading and slaughter of civilians is not democratic…
and should not be supported by any country…
There were over a million ppl in Tripoli to show they are AGAINST NATO invasion/war on Libya !
Stop Bombing Libya NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Absolutely disgusting, not to mention we’re officially funding the opposition now in Afganistan
Very well written article. It is shameful on American people that hey are now docile as a flock of sheep. It is their money that is burned at the wars, so they should be more assertive in that matter.
The trick of American elites with highly technologically advanced warfare employed by US after relatively high casualties of Vietnam war and professional character of man force where the soldiers are paid for doing the warring effectively destroy any visible and audible opposition to wars. American population is made accessories to the wars through the direct involvement in the fighting as paid soldiers or employees in military complex industries one of few production of jobs for Americans that elites still keep in States and not moving it to any low wages countries. Casualties are relatively low on American side and thus also sorrow of bereaved American families does not create enough pressure on elites as we had seen it in times of Vietnam.
The fact that opponent sides have huge loss of people in these technologically unbalanced warfare somewhere far-far away is creating unfortunately very low impact on general population. These new American wars are unethical since in fact they are like behavior of big brawny bully pulling a machine gun on some weak barehanded opponent who cut him off in morning rush hour. I believe that American people would cheer on this weakling against the bully if they are offered such a scene in a movie or TV show. Elites are prepared for this highly human reaction of their masses and they lie. That is why chosen opponents are described as a bad, bad boys with WMD in each of their pocket or they are described as mass murderers or both mass murderers bent on wiping entire peaceful part of their neighborhood with their WMDs. Fact is that mass killing starts only after US army arrival.
But sheep do not remember that, since they have moved meanwhile on sunny side with greener pasture.
There is still one antiwar effort that goes on -,the Ron Paul campaign. Work on it.
Its time for impeachment.
Stop this non sense Libyia war now. Enough of the killing.
right, apathy! These damn wars of choice are expensive, and the debt arguments take up the top story for days, if not a week. Is it not economics? Who gives President Obama the clearance to go against exactly what campaign Obama knew the American people did not want.
I was againts Ghaddafi to a point. But the day, Obama left out the congress was the day Obama blew it in my mind. This was not Truman and anti-communism. This was a Specific candidate who campaigned against war and then mocked the congress once in power.
Its been deception. Obama is not straight with American people, the Arab League, the African league. He allowed Susan Rice, H. Clinton, and the other female adviser to get him in this war.
It was supposed to be days and weeks. It has been a coalition of France, Cameron of the UK, and the country that Al Jazeera is based in.
Because the US has 309 million people, and Libya has only 6 million its hardly a risk, yet thinking Ghaddafi would end easily was so stupid. It shows Obama either is not smart, or sees no risk in it.
You know I ussually don't agree with war but what should we have all done in the world, watch Ghaddafi slaughter his own people? He was unleashing a campaign of terror in the face of those brave average citizens who stood up for a change. Bare in mind Ghaddafi himself is responsible for covertly unleashing campaigns of terror in the past against Israel and was involved in the bombing of an airliner. The man is a dickhead, kill him and give the people of Libya what they want and deserve. Aside from thast the war could be changing public opinion in the Islamic world about the west as we are clearly fighting to defend the rights and civil liberties of muslims.
Steve you have written all the propaganda of those who wanted to change regime in Libya. HRW in its first report from Libya some two weeks into the bombing acknowledged that there was never wholesome killing of civilians by Gaddafi and his people. If there were some civilians killed it was same collateral killing as we see to be done by NATO, who are supposed to guard these civilians. Proof for that can be former Gaddafi's minister of interior who would be responsible for such killing until he joined the rebels. If there was such a killing rebels would probably rather kill him thann make him one of the leaders of Benghazi rebellion.
Also, I do not believe your pretty picture of "brave average citizens", since I know that people from the east Libya have hated Gaddafi from very first day after his dethroning of their king, who was one of them – eastern Libyans and thus they had in his time a bigger piece of Libyan pie. This pie was very humble since Libya was in the days of Gaddafi's revolution at the very bottom of poor countries of Africa. Gaddafi pulled that country right to the top of all African counties in terms of human development index. So I think that even eastern Libyans had something of their collective pie. But they hated Gaddafi nevertheless. They do not consider him a good Moslem since he supported to some extend freedom for women.
Eastern Libyans tried more than once to kill Gaddafi. According story of British agent they were hired for exact same thing by British M16 in 1996. In todays soup of your "brave average citizens" there are the most fanatical Jihadists of LIFG (Libya Islamic Fighting Group) who were actually fighting in Afganistan and Iraq against their today's allies. LIFG is still officially on the list of terrorist organisations.
That Western countries are allies with one of their enemies from amongst Jihad shows that there is some other plan and goal with Libya. Or it might be just Gaddafi, who intended to create African dinar – real money backed by the gold. It might be just anything but care of Libyan civilians. Maybe in few years we will know what was this real goal of West in this war on Gaddafi.
Very well written article. It is shameful on American people that hey are now docile as a flock of sheep. It is their money that is burned at the wars, so they should be more assertive in that matter.