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Politico...
Liberal Democrats in
uproar over Libya action
Ohio
House Representative Dennis Kucinich questions why action is not
impeachable
A hard-core group of liberal House Democrats is questioning the
constitutionality of U.S. missile strikes against Libya, with one
lawmaker raising the prospect of impeachment during a Democratic Caucus
conference call on Saturday.
Reps. Jerrold Nadler (N.Y.), Donna Edwards (Md.), Mike Capuano (Mass.),
Dennis Kucinich (Ohio), Maxine Waters (Calif.), Rob Andrews (N.J.),
Sheila Jackson Lee (Texas), Barbara Lee (Calif.) and Del. Eleanor
Holmes Norton (D.C.) “all strongly raised objections to the
constitutionality of the president’s actions” during that call, said
two Democratic lawmakers who took part.
Kucinich, who wanted to bring impeachment articles against both former
President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney over Iraq —
only to be blocked by his own leadership — asked why the U.S. missile
strikes aren’t impeachable offenses.
Kucinich also questioned why Democratic leaders didn’t object when
President Barack Obama told them of his plan for American participation
in enforcing the Libyan no-fly zone during a White House Situation Room
meeting on Friday, sources told POLITICO.
And liberals fumed that Congress hadn’t been formally consulted before
the attack and expressed concern that it would lead to a third U.S. war
in the Muslim world.
While other Democratic lawmakers have publicly backed Obama — including
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and top members of the
Armed Services, Foreign Affairs and Intelligence committees — the
objections from a vocal group of anti-war Democrats on Capitol Hill
could become a political problem for Obama, especially if “Operation
Odyssey Dawn” fails to topple Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi, leads to
significant American casualties, or provokes a wider conflict in the
troubled region of North Africa.
(Pelosi did not participate in Saturday’s call; she is in Afghanistan
to meet with U.S. military and diplomatic officials.)
U.S. warships fired more than 100 Tomahawk cruise missles on Saturday
in a bid to knock out Libya’s air-defense systems, targeting
command-and-control and radar units near Tripoli, the Libyan capital,
and the city of Misurata, according to Pentagon officials and media
reports. French aircraft attacked armored units loyal to Qadhafi around
the city of Benghazi after they ignored international calls for a
cease-fire.
Saturday’s conference call was organized by Rep. John Larson (Conn.),
chairman of the Democratic Caucus and the fourth-highest ranking party
leader. Larson has called for Obama to seek congressional approval
before committing the United States to any anti-Qadhafi military
operation.
“They consulted the Arab League. They consulted the United Nations.
They did not consult the United States Congress,” one Democrat lawmaker
said of the White House. “They’re creating wreckage, and they can’t
obviate that by saying there are no boots on the ground. … There aren’t
boots on the ground; there are Tomahawks in the air.”
“Almost everybody who spoke was opposed to any unilateral actions or
decisions being made by the president, and most of us expressed our
constitutional concerns. There should be a resolution and there should
be a debate so members of Congress can decide whether or not we enter
in whatever this action is being called,” added another House Democrat
opposed to the Libyan operation.
Read the rest of the story with links at Politico
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