In issuing the report, the White House relented in joining a debate it has largely tried to ignore.The demand that Obama secure congressional approval to continue the Libya operation has brought together House Republicans and liberal Democrats.There has been insufficient analysis, by both policy makers and the media, of the legality of the looming use of military force against Syria. But this not only ignores a key factor, but is rather paradoxical given that one of the primary justifications for the strikes is that they are to punish the Syrian government for its violations of international law.
Libya international law needs updating
It issued a statement which noted Libyan authorities’ use of military aircraft, mortars and heavy weaponry against civilians and called on the Security Council to impose a no-fly zone.
The statement rejected foreign intervention and indicated that failure to take appropriate action now to end the crisis would lead to such intervention in internal Libyan affairs.
The report came on the same day a bipartisan group of lawmakers filed suit in federal court against Obama seeking to end the U. participation in Libya, pushing what has been a slow-moving confrontation over the power of the president at a time of war toward the center of the political debate.
What began as a complaint from those mostly on the partisan fringes of Congress has attracted more lawmakers with each passing week of the Libya operation, which the Obama administration has said is making significant progress in forcing Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi from power.
As a matter of international law, a declaration of war had much more to do with the technical legal regime governing hostilities — dissolving treaties between the belligerent powers and permitting the lawful seizure of public or private enemy property, for example — than with the right to use force in the first place. The British monarch was not only commander in chief but also could declare war.
The Framers divided this authority, reserving the latter power to Congress as the national legislature.
As commander in chief, the president has the authority to determine when and how U. Individual officers can be appointed only if the Senate approves, and only Congress can declare war.
The debate over the president’s use of force without congressional authorization focuses on this provision.
In addition the statement called for communication and cooperation with the Benghazi-led Interim Council, said the Qaddafi-regime had lost its legitimacy, urged humanitarian assistance and that the Arab League would continue coordination with the UN, the AU, the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), and the EU.
On 11 March UN Special Envoy Abdul Ilah Khatib was set to leave New York immediately for Tripoli to assess the situation on the ground accompanied by UN humanitarian officials and staff from the Department of Political Affairs and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The United States has spent 5.9 million in Libya, the vast majority of it on military operations, according to the report.