What is the United States actually doing so far, and what else reportedly is on the table?
1. So far we have agreed to provide airlift support to the French, on their dime. That is, France is going to pay … Read more »
Here is the White House’s supplemental consolidated report regarding the deployment of U.S. armed forces. The report is addressed to the Speaker of the House, and was—in the President’s words—”prepared by my Administration and consistent with the War Powers Resolution.”… Read more »
An important predicate for the legal and political justification for the U.S. role in the Libya intervention was that the United States, following the initial air attacks in March 2011, would transfer responsibility for operations in Libya to NATO and … Read more »
Peter Margulies’s reporting on AALS panels continues with this dispatch:
Libya and Presidential Power
Presidential war powers were debated at the AALS conference that spurred my recent posts on detention and military commissions. The Libyan intervention elicited disagreement peeking
In my haste to survey the NSL-related panels at this week’s AALS Annual Meeting, I missed one of the “Hot Topics” sessions–a plenary discussion of “Political Crises and Constitutionalism: War,” with a special focus on the use of force … Read more »
With the next semester quickly approaching, I’m going through the annual struggle to decide just how much I want to cover current (national security) events in my first-year Constitutional Law course. This is always difficult for me for several reasons, … Read more »
Back in May, I noted that the House version of the NDAA contained a very interesting section addressing “military activities” in cyberspace. Section 962 of that bill would have “affirmed” that DOD may conduct military activities in cyberspace (including clandestine … Read more »
Scott Horton has a thoughtful essay at Foreign Policy that argues the fall of Gaddafi should be seen “through the lens of the law” as a “Pyrrhic” victory. From the domestic law perspective, Horton maintains that because of the administration’s … Read more »
Judge Reggie Walton today dismissed on standing grounds the lawsuit challenging the legality of the military operation in Libya (via Josh Gerstein). The decision was not remotely surprising, and indeed was required by clear precedent.… Read more »
Eric Schmitt and Thom Shanker of the NYT report that the Obama administration considered using offensive cyber-weapons in the war in Libya, but in the end did not use them. Schmitt and Shanker give several reasons why the USG declined … Read more »
The Keynote Address begins with a brief introduction from Jack. He notes that one thing extraordinary about Savage is his ability to extract information from government officials and the clarity with which he can describe and discuss complicated legal issues. … Read more »
Charlie Savage has a story about a dispute between DOD General Counsel Jeh Johnson and State Legal Advisor Harold Koh over the scope of the president’s legal authority to target members of al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist groups in Yemen (AQAP) and … Read more »
Yesterday the Justice Department filed a memorandum (h/t Charlie Savage) in support of its motion to dismiss the lawsuit by ten members of Congress against President Obama over the Libya operation. The main argument, and the probable winner, is that … Read more »
Paul Starobin, whose New York Times piece this weekend was the subject of these earlier thoughts, writes in with the following response:
I agree with Benjamin Wittes that there is an important, even a vital, distinction between being a
Paul Starobin has a piece in the New York Times pondering the flip-flop of Harold Koh on war powers:
During the Bush administration, he was legendary for his piercing criticisms of “executive muscle flexing” in the White House’s pursuit of
In the aftermath of Harold Koh’s testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee a few weeks ago, Senator Lugar sent a set of QFRs (Questions for the Record) that raised a number of interesting questions about the current position of … Read more »
This afternoon, NPR and France 24 reported on two significant events regarding Libya. First, Gadhafi may be ready to leave the country, and his representatives have sought negotiations regarding the mechanics of a potential departure.
Readers who have followed recent … Read more »
A couple of weeks ago, as Ben noted, Trevor Morrison posted an article addressing the Libya-hostilities-OLC debate. An expanded and updated version of that paper is now available here at Harvard Law Review Forum, and it is well worth … Read more »
Marty Lederman offers this analysis over at Balkinization of two critical amendments proposed by Senator Richard Lugar and adopted by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee yesterday.
Lederman points out that the first of Lugar’s amendments would legally restrict the use … Read more »
Eric Posner and Adrian Vermeule have an essay in Slate that argues that it was appropriate for President Obama to ignore OLC’s advice related to the War Powers Resolution. The thrust of their argument, which contrasts sharply with Trevor Morrison’s … Read more »
Harold Koh’s written testimony in connection with today’s SFRC hearing on the WPR and Libya is now available,. [Update: Testimony from Lou Fisher is here. Testimony from Peter Spiro is here.] It is much the same as … Read more »
For the benefit of those who could not watch the SFRC hearing this morning on Libya and the WPR, here are highlights from the oral testimony from State Department Legal Advisor Harold Koh (the written testimony is not yet publicly … Read more »
The following is a guest post from Peter Margulies (Roger Williams Law), reporting highlights from the Naval War College’s International Law Conference 2011 (“Non-International Armed Conflict in the 21st Century”). Note in particular the exchange relating to whether U.S. Command … Read more »
Well, this is going to be interesting, and probably more than a little tense. State Department Legal Advisor Harold Koh will testify tomorrow morning, at 10 eastern (in theory), before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Watch it here. And … Read more »
First, my thanks to Ben, Jack, and Bobby for permitting me to become an affiliated blogger on this terrific site.
We are likely soon to get a test of how seriously Congress takes all of the War Powers Resolution (WPR). … Read more »
Columbia law professor Trevor Morrison has a new essay, posted at SSRN, entitled “Libya, ‘Hostilities,’ the Office of Legal Counsel, and the Process of Executive Branch Legal Interpretation.” Among other things, the paper continues Morrison’s ongoing exchange with Bruce … Read more »
Last Friday I speculated on why Legal Advisor Harold Koh, a leading academic critic of presidential war unilateralism, supported President Obama’s constitutional arguments for the Libya intervention, as well as his restrictive interpretation of the War Powers Resolution. At about … Read more »
The Anti-Libya Bill the House of Representatives will consider is here. The Bill would cut off all funds for the Libya intervention except for specified support operations. Unlike the Resolution floated earlier (described here), this Bill avoids the … Read more »
I realize that the two Libya Resolutions being considered in the House are more for political than legal effect, but the Resolution that seeks to check the President’s Libya intervention is an especially unfortunate vehicle. It provides in full:
CONCURRENT
Lawfare readers may be interested in reading the two competing resolutions under consideration in the House this week.
The first is a resolution requiring the President to withdraw U.S. forces from combat activities.
The second authorizes limited U.S. involvement in … Read more »
Senators Kerry and McCain, and eight other prominent Senators, introduced a Resolution on Libya today. The Resolution authorizes the President “to continue the limited use of the United States Armed Forces in Libya,” for one year. It also states … Read more »
President Obama is in a legal and political pickle concerning his unilateral intervention in Libya. The mission is much harder than he anticipated, and it has taken much longer (months, not days) than he thought it would. Congress is growing … Read more »
Charlie Savage reports this morning: “Since the United States handed control of the air war in Libya to NATO in early April, American warplanes have struck at Libyan air defenses about 60 times, and remotely operated drones have fired missiles … Read more »
I’ve written a relatively brief primer on the application of the War Powers Resolution “clock” to Operation Unified Protector (i.e., the war in Libya), and have posted it at Brookings. After detailed consideration of the arguments that the Administration has … Read more »
Charlie Savage has the amazing story that President Obama “rejected the views of top lawyers at the Pentagon and the Justice Department when he decided that he had the legal authority to continue American military participation in the air war … Read more »
My analysis of the War Powers Resolution yesterday assumed, based on Charlie Savage’s story, that the only kinetic fire that U.S. Armed Forces have been using in Libya since April came from unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones. But Richard … Read more »
Josh Rogin at The Cable reports that Senators Kerry and Lugar agree that there should be a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on WPR compliance in relation to Libya. So many interesting possibilities there if it actually happens. For example, … Read more »
Three somewhat broader thoughts in addition to this morning’s analysis:
1. The Administration’s WPR argument carves out from the scope of the WPR attacks from a safe distance. This is a potentially large carve-out, for U.S.-style warfare is becoming … Read more »
I had thought that the WPR debate in regards to Libya would eventually be eclipsed by a vote on whether to provide supplemental funding to sustain continued operations. But that, it seems, won’t happen. In a hugely important, and to … Read more »
Richard Klingler, currently a partner at Sidley Austin and previously the NSC’s Legal Advisor (2006-07), offers the following assessment of the Administration’s WPR/Libya arguments (which can be found now on p. 25 of this larger document the White House … Read more »
In this long post I analyze the Obama administration’s legal arguments for compliance with the War Powers Resolution. A later post will consider the broader significance of the arguments.
Here is the administration’s formal explanation of its compliance with the … Read more »
Charlie Savage at the NY Times has just reported that the White House is today providing Congress with information on ongoing operations in Libya, including an explanation of the Administration’s position as to why the continuation of the operation beyond … Read more »
Dennis Kucinich, Ron Paul, and eight other members of the House of Representatives have sued the President for injunctive and declaratory relief in connection with the President’s alleged violations of the Declare War Clause and the War Powers Resolution as … Read more »
Today House Speaker John Boehner sent President Obama a letter charging that next Sunday, which will mark 90 days after the Libya intervention began, “the Administration will be in violation of the War Powers Resolution unless it asks for and … Read more »
Most of the legal discussion about Libya intervention has focused in recent weeks on the War Powers Resolution. But the constitutional issue of the President’s power to order the intervention without congressional authorization in the first place is also still … Read more »
Bruce Ackerman has responded on Balkinization to Trevor Morrison’s review of Ackerman’s book The Decline and Fall of the American Republic. Ackerman’s opening paragraphs explain his post and have all the relevant links:
In a recently published book review
According to ABC News and the New York Times, House Speaker John Boehner today will call for a vote on two resolutions regarding the use of force in Libya – one sponsored by Rep. Denis Kucinich, and the other … Read more »
Last Thursday the Washington Post editorial page opined that President Obama should either seek congressional authorization for the military actions in Libya, or “should inform Congress and the public about his intention of going forward with the campaign, openly challenge … Read more »
Further to this post on the President’s letter to Congress (and its significance in light of the War Powers Resolution, or “WPR”), here are two recent and quite post-worthy developments regarding military action in Libya. First up is a letter … Read more »
I join Ben in welcoming Marty Lederman back to blogging. His initial post–parsing both international and domestic legal issues relating to the UBL operation–is typically thorough and insightful (not to mention generally correct). Because it is a long post, … Read more »
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Carol Rosenberg wrote about yesterday’s arguments in the 9/11 hearings on defense counsel’s request for access to the Red Cross’s reports of its interviews with the five accused. That’s in the Miami Herald.
Yesterday’s House intelligence committee hearing with top intelligence agency and DOJ officials drew a big crowd and much news: Wired explains the DOJ’s efforts to conceal the NSA’s role… Read more »
