Editor's Note: Matthew Waxman is Associate Professor at Columbia Law School and Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. The following is an edited transcript of an interview with Professor Waxman.
Amar C. Bakshi: A bipartisan group of House members said today they are filing a lawsuit that challenges U.S. participation in the Libya military mission. What does this lawsuit mean?
Matthew Waxman: The War Powers Resolution was enacted in the wake of the Vietnam War to prevent the President from engaging in wars and major military adventures without Congress’s explicit consent. It does so by requiring the President to withdraw U.S. military forces from armed hostilities within 60 days unless Congress expressly approves otherwise.
The following question has since arisen many times: What remedy exists if the President ignores the requirements set out in that resolution? What happens, for example, if 60 days passes and Congress hasn’t authorized the use of force but the President continues to direct military activities abroad?
There are several types of remedies:
The first is litigation: members of Congress or other interested parties could sue the President, arguing that he is acting illegally. They could seek a court judgment ordering the cessation of military operations. That is what’s apparently about to happen now.
The second is that Congress could use its legislative power: it could pass a law prohibiting the military operations or it could use the “power of the purse” to strip funding for military operations. Either way, Congress could legislatively force the President to stop the operations, but this is very hard to pull off politically.
The third remedy is political, and this is the likely to be the most consequential one in this case: Members of Congress could use the argument that the President is violating the law as a political stick to try to pressure the President in certain ways, extract concessions from him, force him to spend political capital, and gain a greater say in managing or curbing the operation.
Why hasn’t President Obama requested formal Congressional authorization for the Libya intervention?
It’s not really clear exactly why President Obama hasn’t requested formal Congresional authorization, especially because - at least early on – intervention was being loudly championed by some members of congress. Over time, as the operation has dragged on, though, Congressional support has eroded.
Perhaps one reason President Obama did not seek Congressional authorization was that the White House felt it didn’t need it for this type of operation, and it didn’t want to concede that point.
Another possibility is that the President – with other big legislative agenda items currently at stake – did not want to expose Libya operations to a major Congressional debate.
Will this suit go anywhere?
The idea of suing the President for violation of the War Powers Resolution is not a new one. This was tried, for example, by some members of Congress during the Kosovo operations in 1999 when, similar to this situation, President Clinton conducted major military operations in conjunction with NATO past the sixty day deadline in the War Powers Resolution. Some members of Congress sued, but the Court ended up tossing the lawsuit out.
I’d expect a similar outcome in this particular case because courts tend to be very reluctant to wade into War Powers disputes between the political branches of Congress.
How can Obama argue that he does not need Congressional authorization?
There are a couple of possible arguments. The Obama Administration is saying we should expect its legal explanation very soon, so we’ll then have a clearer picture of its arguments.
Some Presidents – including President Richard Nixon when he unsuccessfully vetoed the War Powers Resolution – have argued that it’s unconstitutional.
It is more likely that President Obama will argue that these particular operations in Libya don’t trigger the War Powers Resolution’s sixty day withdrawal deadline requirement because the specific type of operations conducted by American forces don’t rise to the level of combat hostilities contemplated by the statute. The Administration may argue specifically that the U.S. forces are almost entirely in a support role; that we don’t have boots on the ground; and that our forces are not directly engaging enemy forces with hostile fire.
For those reasons the Administration may argue the sixty-day clock hasn’t really been ticking since we handed over the vast bulk of air operations to other NATO coalition partners.
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obama be badder and bolder and dumber then his idol, GW BUSH'
Bush had democrat congress, and house to back him on both wars, **** dumbo went into this war on his own, he was even out of this Country when he did this. You better check he is bombing other countries at this time to.
He is never in the White House spends burns our tax dollars flying his ass all over the world. He has been on vacation running his motor big mouth. Like they say if his mouth is moving he is lieing. Nothing but a looser.
we always had white Presidents go to war and nothing is said,now they have been fighting everything Obama has been tring to do. if he was a white man nothing would be said and I beleive that, just look at Iraq.we found no reason to go to war and how many lives did bush go to court for for murder.
Im a vet myself and we never want our commander go down behind some bull shit politics,they dont realize but they have started a war they will not win. This Tea Party shit is nothing but going back to slavery days and if thats the way they want vets to fight another war we will be ready anain.
i am a black man so there. i think obama was fooled by the french president to go to libya. the french depend on african countries to make ends meet. gadhafi was an obstacle to thier plan. the french used america and the current middle east crises to get into libya. they were already flying in libya before authority was sort from the UN. Obama has now realised this. but he is trapped up to the neck in it. nowhere for him tio run and hide now.
Uh excuse me , but the man is 1/2 white ..... Although everyone is too focused on skin color even though we've been "programmed" to disregard this since I was a child in the 60's.
I agree with this race schtick. The man is half white. He was raised by the white half. He has a black half. Okay. I'm satisfied, why is everyone so weird about it?
Look at Bush? How can you compare this to Bush, bush actually got congress to vote for the iraq war obama just went in Libya... Dont play the race card you fucking ignorant liberal you cant pull that off its not fucking 1960...
It was disppointing to see your guest Ann Coulter this past week. Please go back to having discussions with intellectuals that can speak when it is their turn, and not interrupt the other guest. She added nothing to your
show but her false eye lashes. She brought your hight brow show down to her level.
You mean Mann Coulter, don't you?
I agree.
All future conflicts will be non-wars. Mark it.
with developed countries it will be financial wars as what is going on with China, with 'developing countries' it will most definitely be combat.
Ain't technology grand?
The lawsuit means that the GOP are hypocrites and morons.
You're obviously stupid, as both republicans and democrats are doing it. Fuckup.
You voted for me and you call him/her a fuckup? You are just bitter that I fooled you. he he he
you're the moron for supporting this socialist "king Obamass" the destroyer of the free world!
Both Political parties are owned and controled by the same Money/Power! Period. Paper/plastic; coke/pepsi; rep/dem; Tribune/Sun Times; the only time we get meaningful choices is for 31 flavours of Ice Cream or other meaningless decisions!!!!!!!
yep. i support yoy.
There is not a nickel's difference between the Republican and Democratic parties. Fido on the corporate leash. I gave up my party affiliation this year, I will vote third party. The parties are dead and haven't noticed yet.
I think it's good that the Congress checks on the president and keeps him in bay. Obama had defintely underestimated the consequences of his support of this military action. He thought it would be over in a few weeks. Still he was shrewd enough to scale down the American involvement two weeks after it started and let NATO take over.We wait and see whether Boehner's ultimatum would have an impact on the outcome of the military operation in Libya.
That is the best and least biased comment on here, cheers to you haha
Nobody goes nowhere until we get the oil.says obama and nato. the war will continue until all the oil fields are under western power control. we dont care what the other countries think.
Great comment.
Unfortunately, Barack Obama will somehow worm his way around this lawsuit too and the American military operations in Libya will only continue, tragically enough. Obama has far too much hate in him to be any good as a president and needs to be voted out of office asap!
@onesmallvoice: good luck with that.
Obama isn't going anywhere, so good luck with your wishes, too bad they are only wishes. If republicans take over again, they will run this country into the ground by cutting taxes for the rich and increasing our debt through the roof and ending Medicare so senior citizens who paid for Medicare out of their paychecks for years don't get what they paid for. So Stop watching Fox News, their constant bs is bad for your brain.
"What does the Libya lawsuit mean?" – checks and balances at work.. even WH should follow law and protect order.
What about peace Nobel price?
oil is more important than Nobel price.
Kucinich is responsible for this garbage.. I remember when I was a child my father complaining how Kucinich ran Cleveland into the ground...
Ha...isn't life strange....i think it was just before we went to help out in Libya, the Republicans were wining like little girls..."the president has no balls" so we go to help and now ...Lawsuit!! are you kidding me....you bunch of faceless racist dogs!
Obama is not a president! he is the single person who has ruined our country!
Lol
Barack Obama was elected President of the United States in 2008 by the citizens of the United States who voted. I voted. Did you vote? I find it annoying for idiots to say he is not the President of the United States.
I have learned in the past two weeks that no insult is a good one unless it has animals in it – perhaps we should be liberating the animals. – apparently you don't think very much of donkeys, dogs, sheep (especially if they are dirty) and I'm not making light of it but certainly I worry about your attitudes toward them.
I am appalled and aghast at Obama and Hll and Joe and the Britts and I will never be going back to believing a thing I am told unless I do my own research. -
In this letter, I plan to discuss Libya Lawsuit's pushy reports quite extensively. Note that the details aren't pleasant. In fact, they're shocking. But I insist that people who don't know what Libya Lawsuit is up to doubtlessly need to be shocked. Here's my side of the story: If you've read any of the soulless slop that Libya Lawsuit has concocted, you'll undeniably recall Libya Lawsuit's description of its plan to rewrite and reword much of humanity's formative works to favor animalism. If you haven't read any of it, well, all you really need to know is that I'm no psychiatrist. Still, from the little I know about psychiatry I can say that Libya Lawsuit seems to exhibit many of the symptoms of Asperger's syndrome. I don't say that to judge but merely to put Libya Lawsuit's obdurate complaints into perspective. Until we address this issue, we will never move beyond it.
So now the Republicans want America to "Cut and Run" because they don't want to pay to support our troops? Confusing.
I don't know if Obama's right or wrong here, but it's a riot listening to some of these congressmen who enthusiastically supported the lie-based, trillion dollar, unnecessary 8 year holocaust in Iraq that killed, maimed and tortured hundreds of thousands, many of them Americans, getting all rightously indignant that we're helping NATO shoot a few missles at that tyrant Gaddafi.
Gadhafi helped ANC (Nelson Mandelas perty) defit the apathied regims of south Africa. He startd the African Union to stop exploitation of Africans by the west. He is loved and respected by Africans. Obama and his NATO frienda are aftetr oil
Has any Americans considered what Africa wants? Or is this all about colonialism all over again. I guess the Christain values of Might is Right is in the forefront once again!!! 5000 rebels have now less than 1/3rd of Libya under their control , thanks to the support of Western christain nations!!! The other 75% of Libyans can be bombed to support the 25% of rebels supportd by the West. Way to go for democracy!!!
Obama is legally wrong. Our founding fathers put that in the Constitution to prevent a single leader from bankrupting countries by declaring ruinous wars... a bad habit in Europe and England at the time. That was beefed up after Vietnam. I suspect if someone dropped a bomb on the US we would think they declared war. Obama is past his time to ask Congress for approval. He has not done so, and is in violation of the War Powers Act. Amazes me that he did that, but what the hey, I am shocked at Congress' antics all the time.
What does the Libya lawsuit mean? It means that all our country's real problems have been solved and that we now can concentrate on piddly little things like Libya and Lance Armstrong. It's great to learn that our nation has all its priorities in order and its (lame) ducks in a row.
Professor Waxman missed two other options that Congress has in this situation: censure and impeachment, both of which Congress can impose (largely) by itself. In the first, Congress simply passes a resolution criticizing President Obama's actions. Censure is largely a slap on the wrist, but it alows Congress to express its displeasure – and Congress doesn't require any support/sanction from either the judicial or executive branches before passing a resolution of censure.
And impeachment is an option – doing so would definitely be a "nuclear option" (and one which Congress is unlikely to take), but it could happen. The Constitution grants the power to declare war to Congress, and (if all hell breaks loose) Congress could press impeachment charges, alleging that President Obama has unlawfully infringed on Congressional prerogatives. Again, I think its unlikely – but it is an option available to Congress
Gadhafi won't cost us nearly like the dumb decision to go into Iraq. Bunch of hypocrites these Repubs are being
kucinich is a demacrat so you should check your facts before you call someone a hypocrite and bush got congresional backing for iraq and that is also a fact. IT would seem you lack a good education and are most likely a demacrat.
No ,it wont cost as much!! Just a few thousand jobs, few thousands more foreclosures of homes and more poor Americans. Or perhaps money does grow on trees in the great USA or perhaps the printing press is very active. War is dumb!! Diplomacy and begotians wont cost as much.
begtiations= negotiations
It means that the House needs a remake. More time wasting on bogus pursuits instead of assisting with bringing jobs back to the US. No surprise here. Old story.
A duly-elected legislature has enacted law that clearly obligates the Executive branch to consultations with the Legislative branch. BO has clearly violated the spirit of that legislation, if not the letter. The lawsuit is appropriate, the Judiciary should render an opinion and not evade its own Constitutional obligations toward arbitration. If the law is too vague to be enforced, the the Legislature should be duly notified by Judicial ruling. In any case, shame on BO for engaging in the same reckless disregard of Legislative authority that his predecessors engaged in. He is behaving more like a King, not a President of The People.
the president has done nothing wrong, it is not our war, it is NATO's ,
why should the president need congress' approval?
Boehner just used the opportunity to destroy our economy.
Why do they raise this issue on the first ground?
You guys should discuss more about economy, jobs and debt,
Raise taxes, the more taxes lowered, the more jobs lost.
Has Obama ever mentioned anything gracious about Colonel Gadhafi ? The human rights organisation Gadhafi set up his first prize winner funded was Nelson Mandela ? The bloodless coup of Gadhafi whe he took control of Libya not the pertifying bloodthirsty attacks of Obama and Cameron. The US$12,000 per year Gadhafi handed out to every working age Libyan regardless of whether opr not they wanted to work. His mastermind of The Great Man Made River Project to irrigate mosdt of Libya. The River contract award to USA contractor John Brown. All ruined by the embargo when Libya was frame for the Pan-Am 103 bombing. Gadhafo the man that closed the heroin routes into Africa 18 months before Lockerbie joining a continent wide consortium of African leaders.. Has Obama ever complimented Gadhafi for his humane efforts ?
Has President Obama done one single comparable humane step on a nationwide level for the USA ?
Obama and Cameron are unmitigating liars, Gadhafi is a man of God not a butcher of human beings. Does Obama understand how the satanic mafia of the world hides behind the IDs of others so it looks like good citizens are being killed? Colonel Gadhafi has been demonised by heroin cartel propaganda since the Lockerbie era and President Obama ?PM Cameron react as though it is the truth.
A recent UN report quoted Colonel Gadhafi as a "Model Arab :Leader" ..they do not quote Obama or Cameron as model leaders of democracy.
It is a fact that there are many in Cameron's circle of friends in the Uk who originate from former World War 2 Gestapo families... his lies about Libya and Gadhafi and poisonous statements mirror the poisonous story campaign the Gestapo used upon the Jews prior to and during WW2.
One Egyptian in London recently renmaked to me that Cameron claimed he was a "Jewboy"... perhaps he meant Duboy based on the Thai translate for the fruit Durian which in English means "Satan's Fruit".
Certainly his attitude is wholly unchristian and not the behaviour of a genuine follower of religion.
Religion, Politics and Money are the Greatest Bullshit Story Ever SOLD!
President Mubarak was dobbed with black as a ruthless dictator... he was a World War 2 Spitfire Pilot.. one of the youngest about 16 years old when he finished his training.. do you suppose the US$38 billion he has stashed away in a safe place is because it is cash received from land and property interests for a mssing land-lord a descendant of his Spitfire trainer Mervyn Frank Sheffield Young a thrid cousin of John F Kennedy and family..... the heir to the inheritance is the writer
President Obama's family moved from Kenya to Indonesia to Hawaii..... strange thing is my ancestor owned land in Indonesia and |Hawaii he was Danish.. my brother was a reflection of Danno in Hawaii Five O with John Lord.... now I wonder if it was a hint we own land (we've never sold) in Hawaii.. what did President Obama's mother and father make money out of in Indonesia and Hawaii.. was it in "The Game" ??? Please family of former Presidents Kennedy and Bush investigate. Mervyn Young's mother Mamie Margaret Henry born Philadelpia Pensylvannia first met Barbara Bush (14 year old at the time) on a Cunard Voyage to Southampton UK..... Shinawatra Cameron and thier mob are not our agents affiliates or associates.. they are corrupt... tghe Henry family were friends of Mr Vagne A Fog and his Danish father one of the "Overintendents of Denmark" they were very very very rich families........robbed of title deed documents and investment documents.. financiers of Charles Rolls who started Rolls Royce Ltd
Cameron's gang of marauding spin doctors poison my family name but if they did something here is their explanation...
Cameron has known since before 1990 that someone in St Georges hill Weybridge Surrey Uk was using my ID concerning property fraud..information received from a former British Secret Service MI6 Chief Alex Manson (a personal friend of Erik Young for over 20 years) but he did nothing to get his associates to hand over the money to Erik Young and have them arrested for fraud and forgery... here is an example of the excuse now it is a past matter..
During the leadership election, allegations were made that Cameron had used cannabis and cocaine recreationally before becoming an MP.[181] Pressed on this point during the BBC programme Question Time, Cameron expressed the view that everybody was allowed to "err and stray" in their past.[182] His refusal to deny consumption of either cannabis or cocaine prior to his parliamentary career has been interpreted as a tacit admission that he has in fact consumed both of these illegal drugs. During his 2005 Conservative leadership campaign he addressed the question of drug consumption by remarking that "I did lots of things before I came into politics which I shouldn't have done. We all did."
No we did not ALL do it PM Cameron nor are we ALL responsible for your killing spree upon Libyans without any prior aggresion other than words from their nation or its leader.. The Times Newspaper gives the impression The Royal Navy are not amused by the estimeted US$1500 plus expense for the British tax payers for their directions to have taken the miliatry action Libya has suffered so far... Would President Obama and PM Cameron like to explain where Secretary General of NATO Anders Fogh Rasmussen fits intyo all of this ?? At my grand mother's funeral (Mrs Katrine Fog) Anders Fogh Rasmussen was not ackbnowledegg as a family meber. Norwegian Government Int3ernational Lawyer Niels Chirtian Fog (my uncle) stated "what's he doing here he is not our family" and would even say hallo to Anders Fogh Rasmussen... where did he gate the "Fog(h)" name from.. some Danish lady threw a can of red paint over him a year or two ago and called him a murderer.. I start to understand her reasons..
Sorry my uncle Niels Christian Fog would not even talk to Anders Fogh Rasmussen..my uncle was annoyed about his presence and di not think he was anything to do with the genuine Fog family of Denmark and Norway.... surprising since Niels C Fog dealt with the Maastricy Treaty for Norway whilst Anders Fogh Rasmussen allegedly did the same for Denmark..... do you suppose Anders F Rasmussen has been riding on the name of a totally trusted Danish family he never belonged to ?
Here is something u will never see covered on the mainstream media about Libya. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYYGYJ0Trik What we have here in CNN and other news media organizations is biased journalism and propaganda at the highest level being spewed amongst the American people to achieve the very goal and true reason bombs are being dropped from the skies of Libya. It has nothing to do with humanitarian aid. Nothing to do with what is right. Nobody can answer why or whose real objective it is to see to Gaddafi over throned and removed from power. It runs much deeper then president Obama and George Bush. Good o Bush is no longer president, yet the same agenda continues to be carried on. This is scary stuff.
oil is the reason for oil. the guy has loads of oil and gold.
Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen (not recognised by the real Fog family of Norway and Denmark) David Cameron and their marauding club of land and property inheritance fraudsters show their true colours using weapons loaded with depleted uranium.... http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2011/06/15/what-does-the-libya-lawsuit-mean/#comment-42487 .
It is no surprise there is an imminet law case against President Obama concerning the Libya attacks... he appears to have been drawn in as an associate of the "Black Mafia" and their political front men they have positioned in NATO, The British Government .. we've all been duped by the facade of using other people's family names of repute.
in a large sea of representatives in the House there will always be differences of opinions. the representatives need to show their donors that they are loved and respected because of the money given. hmmm... I wonder if Ghaddafi is going to plan on donating to any of the 10 fighting for a cause that serves the USA in no way whatsoever. If he doesnt do it soon I will bet they will lose interest.
Hard times require fast action and fast decisions. Without this change can never occur. The political quagmire prevents accomplishments and these damn assh!#* need to back off of people who are not afraid to make decisions.We need to trust and respect the top leaders that WE elect! Bin laden is dead and we have a chance for people with pre-existing medical conditions to be treated fairly. I'm going to vote for Obama again as is my right as an American.
Good job.
This is no reflection on what is, or is not, required in Lybia as far as outside intervention.. The War Powers Resolution was at the outset, regardless of intended design, employed as a bi-partisan tool where the congressional sanctioning would be pitted against war time presidential popularity. Historically when presidents declare war their popularity, especially when in waining, tends to be restored.
But a lot has happened since Post Vietnam congressional renovations, Kosovo, and Somalia. Since then the increasing privitization of military contracts, as well as the cropping up of wholey private institutions working in conjuncion with international military forces, kind of like the 'Pinkertons' , have unavoidably changed the nature of war time presidential policies.
Prior the employment or deployment of the resolution was almost strickly a political venture. but now with the act of war,.. police action, intervention, what ever you want to call it, the resolution can open whole new doors, not only for extended military budgets, but for many different tiers in the private sector, as well: security, insurance, legal consulting, reinfrastructuring ( a whiole booming new industry). Lets face it..Lobbyists courting war time presidental administrations have become vast and diverse; so much so, in terms of presidential obligation ( jobs, foreign investment, etc. ) any current administration could scarcely just say.. NO!
The asnwer is and will continue to be YES!, And the 60 justification and warrant for extended internment and occupation could very likely in the future come to be recognized as a 'permit approval waiting period' for entities both public and private, alike, to keep there hands on other peoples stuff.
For these reasons, even more than for the innitial purpose of the bill, it is not only important to bring this out into the open, but push even further. This is not Sarah Palins 'plausibly' inappropriate emails we are going after. This is actually important. this resolution will, really already has, become a global vehicle for the establishment of new economic regimes. That is not the resolutions purpose, and I would not want it to be.
It means that Obama's time has come:
VOTE THIRD PARTY AND THROW OUT THE REP/DEMS.
VOTE THIRD PARTY AND THROW OUT THE REP/DEMS. NEITHER PARTY REPRESENTS THE PEOPLE. DON'T BUY IN TO ELECTING MORE REPUBLICANS. Yes, Barack Obama has violated the Constitution. No, we do not want the Republicans in. I will vote Green Party in 2012.
Larouche is a douche.
half black or half white he is still an idiot
half black or half white he is still and idiot
WE WANT JUSTICE NATO UN SHOW THE PEOPLE ABOUT JUSTICE PLEASE HOW MANY PEOPLE DO YOU PROTECT THE LIBYAN PEOPLE AND MANY KILLED AND HOW MANY MADE INTO RUFUGEES FRENCH GOES FIRST...BAN NATO
THANKS
SHADDUP!
We are simply not killing each other fast enough. More armies, more weapons, more interventions, are urgently required to maintain our present systems consisting of we are different and better than you and so we have to kill all of you because you're not like us. Let's get on with it. The more deaths the better.
Quite your whining, cry-baby!
It means RON PAUL is finally winning!! And YOU, CNN, will PAY DEARLY for lying to all of us all these years!! You will pay in BLOOD!