Congress Can Stop Funding Libya Mission. Should It?

Lawmakers from both parties want a vote on whether to defund the Libya operation, and a vote could come as soon as next week. Adam at Plum Line notes that Speaker Boehner has walked a fine line.

It may also be in Boehner’s political interests to delay a vote. The administration is clearly trying to hand off administration of the no-fly zone to one of its coalition partners, it has continued to define the mission as “limited,” even as it escalates, and the Libyan rebels may be too few to be able to truly capitalize on the assist from the outside. Giving explicit congressional authorization now will give Congress ownership of the mission, which means that they won’t be able to simply blame the White House if the whole thing turns out to require more of a U.S. commitment than was initially assumed.

Unfortunately, less than a decade since the U.S. invaded Iraq, we don’t seem to have learned how easily that can happen.

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.