OBAMA A TRAITOR AND WAR CRIMINAL – WHERE’S CONGRESS?

By J.B. Williams

March 21, 2011
NewsWithViews.com

On the eighth anniversary of the day President George W. Bush ordered US troops into Iraq in 2003, with the full support of the US Congress and majority support from the UN Security Council, Barack Obama launched a Tomahawk missile assault on the sovereign nation of Libya with no majority support in the UN and without even consulting congress.

Acting alone while congress was away on recess, solely at the command of the United Nations and without constitutional authority, Barack Obama dropped over $70 million worth of Tomahawk missiles on the sovereign nation of Libya in a dictatorial maneuver to force regime change of a foreign land.

He launched a military assault on Libya under what authority? To be certain, Gadhafi is no prize, but what Obama just did is far worse. Acting all alone in a truly imperialistic fashion, Obama violated his Oath of Office, Article I and II of the US Constitution and The War Powers Act all in one mindless kneejerk decision.

Article II – Section II of the US Constitution identifies the US President as the civilian oversight of the US Military and Commander-in-Chief. But it gives the US President no authority to use military might to enforce its political will upon foreign nations.

Article I – Section VIII of the US Constitution rests the power to declare war solely with the US Congress. It requires both the Commander-in-Chief and Congress to commit US troops to combat, without which the act is wholly unconstitutional.

Even the Washington Times managed to get this one right in its editorial – Obama’s Illegal War.

The 1973 War Powers Act was put in place to prevent a US President from doing exactly what Barack Obama just did.

SEC. 2. (a) It is the purpose of this joint resolution to fulfill the intent of the framers of the Constitution of the United States and insure that the collective judgment of both the Congress and the President will apply to the introduction of United States Armed Forces into hostilities, or into situations where imminent involvement in hostilities is clearly indicated by the circumstances, and to the continued use of such forces in hostilities or in such situations.

A US Commander-in-Chief can order use of military force in only three specific conditions…

(1) a declaration of war,
(2) specific statutory authorization, or
(3) a national emergency created by attack upon the United States, its territories or possessions, or its armed forces.

The US Congress has not declared war against a foreign nation since WWII. But when George W. Bush sent troops into Afghanistan and Iraq following the September 11, 2001 attacks on US soil, he not only consulted congress in advance, he sought and received specific statutory authorization from congress before ordering troops into combat. Bush complied with the constitution and War Powers Act under conditions (2) and (3). He also had a broad coalition of UN partners backed by years of Iraqi broken UN resolutions.

In the case of Obama and Libya, none of these conditions exist.

1) Congress did not declare war.
2) Congress was not consulted and did not give specific statutory authorization.
3) The US was not attacked in any way by Libya which presented no threat to the US or US assets.

As a result, Barack Obama had NO constitutional authority to attack Libya with over $70 million worth of US taxpayer Tomahawks, placing American soldiers in harm’s way in yet another war which cannot even be justified by the pursuit of oil.

Obama touched down in Brazil as American soldiers launched a military assault on Libya at Obama’s command. Obama stands alone in this decision and order, without the support of the American people, without constitutional authority and in direct violation of his Oath of Office and the War Powers Act.

Obama is a war criminal and traitor as a result. He has acted alone, well beyond the scope and authority of his office and at odds with the national interests of the United States and the constitution which he took an oath to uphold and defend.

The Washington Times has it right. Even crook Democrat Charlie Rangel has it right - saying he was angry that Congress was not consulted before the military strikes.

He said he was undecided on whether the military action against Libya was justified but thought lawmakers and their constituents should have had time to weigh in. "Our presidents seem to believe that all we have to do is go to the U.N. and we go to war," Rangel said.


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