Bipartisan House Slaps Obama on Libya

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright June 24, 2011
All Rights Reserved.                                         

        Embarrassing President Barack Obama, the House rejected a measure giving him the authority to continue the Libyan war [295-123].  While Republicans failed to de-fund the operation [238-180], the struggle in Congress said less about the 1973 War Powers Act and more about the White House’s inept public relations.  When the White House decided to shoot Cruise missiles at Libya March 19, they did so in response to a March 17 U.N. resolution authorizing any and all means to protect Libyan civilians.  Libyan strongman 68-year-old Moammar Kadafi created plenty of enemies over the years, especially the Arab League, recalling his support of the late Serbian dictator Slobodan Milocevic’s massacre of ethnic Albanians and Bosnian Muslims.  Kadafi retaliated against the U.S. with the Dec. 21, 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing all 270 passengers and crew.

            Despite war fatigue over Afghanistan and Iraq, the House would have gladly supported the Libyan military operation had Obama gone to Congress to make his best case.  Instead, he chose to imbed the operation in NATO to camouflage U.S. involvement.  Obama deferred the mission to NATO precisely to avoid deferring to Congress.  Given the ongoing hemorrhage to the U.S. economy in Iraq and Afghanistan, Congress was reluctant to fund new military operations, especially those with questionable national security benefit.  Under the 1973 War Powers Act, Obama had 90 days in which to seek Congressional approval.  “But when the president chooses to challenge the powers of Congress, I as speaker of the House will defend the constitutional authority of the legislature,” said House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), raising the War Powers Act.

            Whether Boehner can stop Libyan funding or not, White House officials should show more sensitivity to the Republican-led Congress, especially during an election year.  Had the White House sought and received Congressional approval, or at least opened up a reasonable debate, Boehner wouldn’t score political points.  Beating back a GOP-backed de-funding effort 238-180 shows growing opposition to a strategy that hasn’t toppled Kadafi in over four months since the mission began.  It took former President George W. Bush less than a month to topple the Taliban jn 2007 and Saddam Hussein in 2001.  Spending four-months in Libya under NATO supervision demonstrates a lack of resolve by the U.S. to get the job done.  More foot-dragging in Libya has soured public support for a mission that could have heroic consequences but now has harmful effects on Barack’s approval ratings.

            Despite intense lobbying from Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton for the Libyan operation, Obama finds himself no longer getting credit but taking a beating in Libya.  Kadafi has dug in allowing NATO to continue bombing Libya’s infrastructure, something NATO will have to be rebuilt once Kadafi falls.  NATO’s bombing mission has failed so far because Kadafi is content to stay holed up in his bunker, letting Tripoli take the pounding.  No NATO country—including the U.S.—has been willing to put boots on the ground in Libya, assuring the current standoff.  Today’s vote against giving Obama authority to continue military operations was the first since the House voted in 1999 to stop former President Bill Clinton from using ground troops against Milosevic in Kosovo.  Opposition to Libya stems from Iraq and Afghanistan war fatigue and the lack of progress against Kadafi.

            White House officials continue to manage the PR poorly when it comes to Libya.  “We think now is not the time to send the kind of mixed message that it sends when we’re working with out allies to achieve the goals that we believe that are widely share in Congress protecting civilians in Libya, enforcing the no-fly zone, enforcing an arms embargo and further putting pressure on Kadafi,” said White House spokesman Jay Carney, hurting the White House cause.  Protecting Libyan civilians, while the U.N. smokescreen for toppling Kadafi, doesn’t resonate as having U.S. national security interests.  Now muddled in the U.N. mission, Obama gets the blame not the credit for wasting more tax dollars.  Former presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), now chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, blamed the House’s uprising on Obama’s poor communication.

            Barack can’t have it both ways:  Seeking to use U.S. military power, and, at the same time, deferring the Libyan operation to NATO.  Bombing Tripoli into the Stone Age won’t dislodge Kadafi, only present nightmares rebuilding infrastructure after Kadafi goes.  “This is one of the reasons why they’re having this veritable uprising in the House, because of a lack of communication.  And then the icing on the cake was probably for them when he [Obama] said that we’re not engaged in hostilities.  That obviously in foolishness,” said McCain.  Obama’s miscalculation in Libya involved taking a back seat to NATO.  Had Barack not applied the brakes, the U.S. military would have toppled Kadafi as quickly as the Taliban and Saddam Hussein.  Because it’s taken so long, Barack’s not going to get much credit once NATO finally kills or drives Kadafi out of Tripoli.

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.  He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com.and author of Dodging the Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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