Upholding The War Powers Act

I've been putting off writing a blog entry on this topic for a week or so now, partially because I've been busy but primarily because I hoped there would be some new development regarding Libya making what follows irrelevant.  But as you probably are aware we have passed the 90-day mark for our operation in Libya and are continuing operations even though the War Powers Act requires that all actions cease after 90 days if there is no authorization from Congress.

The War Powers Act was passed by Congress in 1973 in an effort to check presidential powers after US commitment to armed conflict is undertaken without congressional authorization.  It requires the President to notify Congress of committing US forces within 48 hours and allows operations to continue without approval from Congress for 60 days, beyond which an additional 30 days are allowed for withdrawal.  The 90 day period from when we began action in Libya expired on the 20th.  The President has expressed that the War Powers Act is a valid law, unlike some previous presidents who have questioned its constitutionality, but he claims that US involvement in Libya is exempt from the War Powers Act as it is a NATO mission.  Although Mr. Obama isn't the first President to push the limits of the War Powers Act I am not aware of any administration continuing action beyond the 90-day period without congressional approval.

I am supportive of our efforts in Libya and I believe that President Obama did the right thing by using US resources in helping stop what would have been mass genocide.  I can also understand the point that the President is making by claiming that NATO operations are exempt from the War Powers Act but I disagree with this assessment.  There are certain obligations of NATO members when another member of NATO is the victim of hostilities but Libya is not a part of NATO and actions within that country certainly do not directly and immediately threaten our NATO allies.  Even if another NATO member was the victim of hostilities I believe that as a nation we have a right to determine the extent of our involvement through Congress not by unilateral action of a President.  Although NATO requires support in those types of situations it does not require military assistance.  There are times when the President must act unilaterally due to time constraints, in today's world violence can flare-up with little notice and waiting on approval from Congress could cost lives, but there must be limits and conditions to that power and that's exactly what the War Powers Act was intended for.

Although I feel that President Obama is wrong on continuing action without congressional approval the blame is not his alone, Congress has failed to meet its obligation to check presidential power.  Nowhere in the War Powers Act does it require Congress to wait for the President to do anything before they vote to continue or cease military involvement.  The President is only required to brief Congress and even if the President fails to do this Congress can still act.  There are some who have claimed that the President has failed to inform Congress of his actions, this is false, the administration has had continuous briefings with Congress to keep them informed of operations.  And to be fair there have been members of Congress who have proposed bills dealing with Libya, but these have failed to pass as they do not have support from congressional leadership from either side of the aisle.

Congress must act and authorize the President to continue operations in Libya, failure to do so will set a dangerous precedent rendering the War Powers Act invalid.  Just because congressional leaders agree with what we are doing in Libya doesn't mean that they will be in favor of any future conflict that extends past the authorized 90-day period and now that the precedent has been set it will be difficult to resolve the issue through the courts.  If leaders in Congress feel the War Powers Act is out-dated then fix it or pass a new law but either way they can't let the Act die.  We cannot create a situation where one person can make open-ended war, our voice is through Congress and they need to ensure we as citizens remain relevant.