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May 24, 2011

Libya Campaign Could Violate War Powers Law 
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The Obama administration is facing questions over whether the U.S. role
in the attack on Libya is violating federal law. Under the War Powers
Resolution of 1973, the President has 60 days to deploy the armed forces
without congressional approval. The 60-day window passed on Friday. The
White House has maintained it does not need Congressional backing for it
what it calls a "limited" operation like the Libya attack. But in a
letter to Obama last week, a group of Republican senators warned Obama
about the 60-day deadline and urged him to seek congressional approval.
Harvard law professor Jack Goldsmith, the former head of the U.S.
Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel, says the Libya
operation marks the first time any president has violated the War Powers
Resolution's provisions on either the 60-day window, or on obtaining
Congressional backing.



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