The King's Army

“The United States does not have a king’s army,” said Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md) with righteous (and overblown) indignation. He was referring to "King Barack I," of course.

I confess I'm not sure why President Obama picked a fight with Congress over Libya. The 1973 War Powers Act requires the president to secure the consent of Congress. Otherwise, "hostilities" must be halted after 90 days. Obama argued that his Libyan intervention does not rise to the level of war. Now, to most folks, hitting Qaddafi with airstrikes and 119 cruise missiles (which blew up his entire air defense system) easily meets their definition of war. So it's understandable that naysayers (in both parties) view Obama's position as straining credulity. Though I'd love to know Mr. Obama's precise thinking on this matter, I'm inclined to trust him. After all, it's not like I'm worried about another George W. Bush-style cavalry charge ("Mount up, boys, let's invade another A-rab country! Them WMDs have gotta be in one of 'em. Yaaah-hoo!"). Indeed, the trust factor is probably why the public has been largely mute on Libya. The screaming is coming from academia and politicos with agendas.

Technically, Professor Obama, a Harvard-trained constitutional lawyer, is probably right. Yes, America went all shock & awe on Libya during the intervention's opening days. Then, like a dissipating thunderstorm, we throttled back into a quiet support role as nanny to NATO. There are no American boots on the ground. (We'll just pretend - wink wink - that those CIA and Special Forces boot prints aren't really there.) We're not engaged in major combat operations and nobody is dying (yet). Moreover, the War Powers Act is a relic from the 1970s, one designed as a response to the Vietnam quagmire. But times, they have a-changed, and some scholars question the law's validity or relevance today. It's possible Obama is among the skeptics. Friday, the GOP House "rebuked" the Professor by voting against authorizing the mission. But they didn't de-fund it. That rendered the action moot. "15-Love," advantage Obama. So just what is the president up to? There is a method to his madness even if we don't see it.

My guess is that Obama is playing an intricate chess game in Libya. It ends when Qaddafi is ousted (or killed). Special envoys, spies, Special Forces and NATO allies are Obama's rooks, bishops, knights and pawns. Quiet, nuanced moves and patience are required to win. The noisy nimrods in Congress, blinded by politics, will only muck things up. Since Congress won't act in a bipartisan manner that puts country first, Obama prefers that they simply butt out. Hence his obstinacy on the War Powers Act (i.e., give them an inch and they'll take a mile). “[Obama's] argument, you can drive a tank through it," sputtered Rep. Buck McKeon (R-Calif.), like a peacock in full plume. Perhaps, but it's the Congress that got run over by a tank. And perhaps that is just as well. Time will tell.