Middle Ground

The House of Representatives today failed to pass a bill that would de-fund the Libya operations. It also failed to pass a resolution expressing support for the mission, which would have effectively authorized it under the War Powers Act. This means… what, exactly? The status quo is preserved and President Obama can go on bombing Libya, but it seems like some headway needs to be made there soon. It stands to reason that as time goes on, the voices calling for de-funding are going to grow louder at the expense of those backing the military operations.

President Obama addressed the nation yesterday in a speech in which he stated that 10,000 troops would be withdrawn from Afghanistan by the end of 2011, and an additional 23,000 by the end of 2012.

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As the NATO military action in Libya begins its fourth month, the chorus of voices, both in Washington and in the rest of the nation, calling for President Obama to either justify his actions in committing U.S. forces or bring them home (or just bring them home) grows louder.  However, on Sunday during an appearance on Meet the Press, Republican Senator Lindsay Graham of South Carolina backed up the President’s actions.  In part, the Senator said that he would “be no part of an effort to defund Libya or to try to cut off our efforts to bring Qaddafi down.”  Sen. Graham stated that his position is that the War Powers Act is unconstitutional and “not worth the paper it’s written on,” pretty much agreeing with every President since Nixon, Democrat and Republican alike.

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