Senate Committee approves U.S. participation in Libyan war

PanARMENIAN.Net - A U.S. Senate panel on Tuesday approved a resolution formally authorizing continued U.S. participation in the NATO-led military intervention in Libya but banning the introduction of U.S. troops on the ground there.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee vote marked another round in the debate in Washington over who has the power to make war, sparked by the President Barack Obama's decision to commit the United States to the Libya conflict in March without asking the U.S. Congress' approval.

The committee voted 14-5 to approve the measure offered by Senator John Kerry, a Democrat, and Senator John McCain, a Republican, both supporters of the Libya intervention.

But the House of Representatives has already rejected a similar measure, reflecting the division in Congress over the issue and narrowing the chances that the Kerry-McCain resolution, which first has to be approved by the full Senate, will ever become law.

While the Obama administration would like Congress to express support for the Libya mission, it says it does not strictly need formal authorization by Congress. This is because the U.S. military role in the NATO-led Libya operations has been limited, not rising to the level of war or "hostilities" under U.S. law, U.S. officials say.

This legalistic position, which was explained again to the committee in detail earlier Tuesday by State Department lawyer Harold Koh, has angered or annoyed many in both parties in Congress -- even some of those who support the Libya action. Before passing the resolution, the senators effectively repudiated the administration's argument by adopting an amendment that said continuation of the Libya operations does require congressional authorization, WASHINGTON, Reuters.