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The House of Representatives registered its disapproval of U.S. involvement in the NATO-led Libya campaign Friday, solidly rejecting a resolution expressing support for American military engagement in the war-torn North African country.
The resolution -- similar to a measure introduced in the Senate by Sen. John Kerry, D-Massachusetts, and Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona -- lost in a 295-193 vote. Republicans voted overwhelmingly against the measure, while Democrats voted more narrowly in favor of it.
The House is also expected to vote Friday in favor of sharp restrictions on funding for America's role in the mission.
The Republican-sponsored bill, which would effectively prohibit U.S. offensive operations such as drone strikes, is seen as a sharp rebuke of President Barack Obama's policy in the war-torn North African country.
It would limit the U.S. role to nonhostile actions such as search and rescue, aerial refueling, operational planning, intelligence gathering and reconnaissance.
The bill is considered to have little chance of clearing the Democratic-controlled Senate.
Much of the House's disapproval of the Libya campaign is being fueled by a belief that Obama failed to sufficiently consult with Congress before committing to military engagement. Specifically, a number of representatives from both political parties say the administration has violated the 1973 War Powers Resolution, which gives the president 60 days to get congressional approval for sending U.S. forces to war, followed by a 30-day extension to end hostilities.
The combined 90-day period ended last Sunday.
Support for the war has also been further shaken by evidence of several noncombatant deaths caused by recent NATO airstrikes.
The White House says Obama didn't need congressional authorization because U.S. forces are playing only a supporting role in Libya and haven't engaged in what the law defines as hostilities. The president, however, personally overruled contrary legal opinions put forward by both the Pentagon and the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, according to a report published Saturday in The New York Times.
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, told reporters Thursday that he believes Obama "has failed to make his case as to why we have engaged in Libya."
"I think the strategy was flawed from the beginning," Boehner said. "I understand the humanitarian mission, but the idea that the rest of the strategy was to hope that (Libyan leader Moammar) Gadhafi would leave begged the question of, well, how long are we going to be there?"
Boehner, however, stressed that he didn't "want to do anything that would undermine NATO or to send the signal to our allies around the world that we are not going to be engaged."
"This is primarily a fight between the Congress and the president over his unwillingness to consult with us before making this decision," the speaker said.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday it would be a mistake for Congress to cut funding for U.S. military operations in Libya.
"I think, once we have our forces engaged, to deny them funding would be a mistake," Gates told PBS News. Key American allies -- especially the British, the French and the Italians -- consider Libya a vital interest, and "our alliance with them is a vital interest for us," he said, citing their efforts in Afghanistan.
Gates insisted that progress has been made toward the U.S. goal of ousting Gadhafi.
"Based on everything we see, the government gets shakier by the day," Gates said. "His forces have been significantly diminished. The opposition is expanding the areas under their control."
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met privately with House Democrats on Thursday to urge support for the resolution backing the Libya mission, according to a Democratic source who attended the meeting.
"The bottom line is, whose side are you on?" she said Wednesday. "Are you on Gadhafi's side, or are you on the side of the aspirations of the Libyan people and the international coalition that has been created to support them?"
The allied military effort, which has formal United Nations support, was launched to protect Libyan civilians from violence stemming from a crackdown launched by Gadhafi. Western leaders have made clear, however, that they believe the mission cannot be successfully completed without Gadhafi's ouster.
The White House has promised not to use U.S. ground troops, but bipartisan congressional opposition to the military campaign has nevertheless been mounting over several weeks. In addition to concerns over the War Powers Resolution, traditional anti-war Democrats and fiscally conservative Republicans are worried about the cost of the conflict.
In a recent report on the mission, the administration said the cost of military and humanitarian operations through June 3 was about $800 million. It estimated the total cost through September 30 would be $1.1 billion.
Source: CNN
The resolution -- similar to a measure introduced in the Senate by Sen. John Kerry, D-Massachusetts, and Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona -- lost in a 295-193 vote. Republicans voted overwhelmingly against the measure, while Democrats voted more narrowly in favor of it.
The House is also expected to vote Friday in favor of sharp restrictions on funding for America's role in the mission.
The Republican-sponsored bill, which would effectively prohibit U.S. offensive operations such as drone strikes, is seen as a sharp rebuke of President Barack Obama's policy in the war-torn North African country.
It would limit the U.S. role to nonhostile actions such as search and rescue, aerial refueling, operational planning, intelligence gathering and reconnaissance.
The bill is considered to have little chance of clearing the Democratic-controlled Senate.
Much of the House's disapproval of the Libya campaign is being fueled by a belief that Obama failed to sufficiently consult with Congress before committing to military engagement. Specifically, a number of representatives from both political parties say the administration has violated the 1973 War Powers Resolution, which gives the president 60 days to get congressional approval for sending U.S. forces to war, followed by a 30-day extension to end hostilities.
The combined 90-day period ended last Sunday.
Support for the war has also been further shaken by evidence of several noncombatant deaths caused by recent NATO airstrikes.
The White House says Obama didn't need congressional authorization because U.S. forces are playing only a supporting role in Libya and haven't engaged in what the law defines as hostilities. The president, however, personally overruled contrary legal opinions put forward by both the Pentagon and the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, according to a report published Saturday in The New York Times.
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, told reporters Thursday that he believes Obama "has failed to make his case as to why we have engaged in Libya."
"I think the strategy was flawed from the beginning," Boehner said. "I understand the humanitarian mission, but the idea that the rest of the strategy was to hope that (Libyan leader Moammar) Gadhafi would leave begged the question of, well, how long are we going to be there?"
Boehner, however, stressed that he didn't "want to do anything that would undermine NATO or to send the signal to our allies around the world that we are not going to be engaged."
"This is primarily a fight between the Congress and the president over his unwillingness to consult with us before making this decision," the speaker said.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday it would be a mistake for Congress to cut funding for U.S. military operations in Libya.
"I think, once we have our forces engaged, to deny them funding would be a mistake," Gates told PBS News. Key American allies -- especially the British, the French and the Italians -- consider Libya a vital interest, and "our alliance with them is a vital interest for us," he said, citing their efforts in Afghanistan.
Gates insisted that progress has been made toward the U.S. goal of ousting Gadhafi.
"Based on everything we see, the government gets shakier by the day," Gates said. "His forces have been significantly diminished. The opposition is expanding the areas under their control."
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met privately with House Democrats on Thursday to urge support for the resolution backing the Libya mission, according to a Democratic source who attended the meeting.
"The bottom line is, whose side are you on?" she said Wednesday. "Are you on Gadhafi's side, or are you on the side of the aspirations of the Libyan people and the international coalition that has been created to support them?"
The allied military effort, which has formal United Nations support, was launched to protect Libyan civilians from violence stemming from a crackdown launched by Gadhafi. Western leaders have made clear, however, that they believe the mission cannot be successfully completed without Gadhafi's ouster.
The White House has promised not to use U.S. ground troops, but bipartisan congressional opposition to the military campaign has nevertheless been mounting over several weeks. In addition to concerns over the War Powers Resolution, traditional anti-war Democrats and fiscally conservative Republicans are worried about the cost of the conflict.
In a recent report on the mission, the administration said the cost of military and humanitarian operations through June 3 was about $800 million. It estimated the total cost through September 30 would be $1.1 billion.
Source: CNN