It's been 60 days since America's "kinetic military action" in Libya commenced.
The War Powers Act is relevant in certain circumstances, including (Section 1543) "in any case in which United States Armed Forces are introduced ... into the territory, airspace or waters of a foreign nation, while equipped for combat." This would clearly apply to the Libyan situation.
The Act requires timely presidential notification of the commencement of such operations. Though of dubious constitutionality, the Act further requires that (Section 1544) "Within sixty calendar days ... the President shall terminate any use of United States Armed Forces" unless Congress has declared war or has enacted a specific authorization ..."
We're at Day 60, and the Obama administration isn't going to comply with any of this. Here is how the Associated Press is headlining and describing Barack Obama's failure to comply (copied in full for future reference, fair use and discussion purposes):
Those who care about such things (i.e., people who don't want to see the press continually corrupt the English language) should note that the dictionary meanings of "skip" as a verb do not include "to fail to comply with a legal requirement."
Nobody can possibly believe that the AP would have engaged in such an obvious dodge if a Republican or conservative in the White House has even considered such an option, let alone gone with the "You wouldn't dare do something about this, would you?" strategy Team Obama is employing.
Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.
