Constitutionalists in GOP line up against Libya interventionism as compounding mistakes of Bush; neocons rally to Obama

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Republican says action in Libya is an 'affront' to the US Constitution
(The Hill) -- by John T. Bennett --

A senior Republican on the House Armed Services Committee escalated his party's attacks on the Obama's administration's military action in Libya, calling the move unconstitutional.

“The United States does not have a King's army," Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.) said in a statement released Monday evening. "President Obama's unilateral choice to use U.S. military force in Libya is an affront to our Constitution."

Bartlett said Obama's team has repeated "the mistakes" made by the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations when they plunged U.S. forces into the Kosovo and Iraq conflicts without first seeking congressional approval.

Bartlett lashed out at Obama for opting against getting lawmakers OK before using "military force against a country that has not attacked U.S. territory, the U.S. military or U.S. citizens."

Obama notified lawmakers of his authorization for the mission in a letter.

Bartlett's statement was the harshest yet from House Republican leaders, who are lining up against the Libyan operation.

House Speaker Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Howard "Buck" McKeon (R-Calif.) issued separate statements Sunday afternoon questioning the administration's goals in Libya.

Some senior Senate Republicans, including John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), have said they support sending U.S. forces to Libya to help set up and maintain a no-fly zone.

In the statement, the Bartlett called Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi a tyrant who has mercilessly attacked his own people.

But, for Bartlett, that is not enough to justify U.S. military intervention.

"It is self-evident that the tragic situation in Libya is not an emergency since the Obama administration sought and obtained support from both the Arab League and the United Nations Security Council to authorize military force against [Gadhafi]," Bartlett said in the statement...MORE...LINK