Pentagon Warns Of M.A.D. Should The War Powers Act Be Enacted And US Withdraw Its Troops From Libya

Submitted by Tyler Durden
06/02/2011 14:54 -0400
178 comments

Who says Mutual Assured Destruction is to be used only by bankers: our military leaders appear to have mastered the strategy of getting what they want to warning about all hell breaking loose, just as effectively. Reuters reports http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews ... 1720110602 that should Congress pursue a resolution to withdraw from the humanitarian Libyian oil liberation force, currently headed by Sarkozy, it would send an "unhelpful message of disunity" to allies and foes alike. "Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said that "once military forces are committed, such actions by Congress can have significant consequences," particularly on relations with members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. "It sends an unhelpful message of disunity and uncertainty to our troops, our allies and, most importantly, the Gaddafi regime," Morrell said in a statement in Singapore, where Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrived on Thursday to attend a security dialogue with Asian allies...Kucinich's measure would invoke the 1973 War Powers Resolution to direct Obama to stop the U.S. participation in the war. Kucinich says Obama violated the part of the law that prohibits U.S. armed forces from being involved in military actions for more than 60 days without congressional authorization." Kucinich seems to forget that reminding a constitutional lawyer about constitutional abuses is actually racist. And more importantly, what excuse will those hundreds of billions in "defense spending" by the US government have if America's military is relegated to "bankster" status in terms of utility.

More:

The Pentagon reaction came after the Republican-led House on Wednesday delayed a vote on the resolution, sponsored by Democrat Dennis Kucinich, so lawmakers would have more time to weigh their options on the Libya conflict.

NATO is leading the intervention in Libya with a U.S. contribution but there are no U.S. troops on the ground there.

The operation aims to enforce a U.N. Security Council resolution authorizing the protection of Libyan civilians from attacks by Gaddafi's forces, which are fighting rebels trying to oust the long-time leader.

The U.S. role has been controversial in Congress since Obama notified lawmakers on March 21 that he had ordered the intervention as part of a multinational coalition conducting air strikes to shield civilians.

Kucinich's measure would invoke the 1973 War Powers Resolution to direct Obama to stop the U.S. participation in the war. Kucinich says Obama violated the part of the law that prohibits U.S. armed forces from being involved in military actions for more than 60 days without congressional authorization.

That said it is good to know that republicans are truly concerned about discretionary spending cuts, among which defense spending tends to be at the very top:

House Speaker John Boehner told a news conference on Thursday the Kucinich resolution probably would be dealt with on Friday after Republicans meet to talk about Libya.

"We'll see what our members have to say, but I expect that this issue will be resolved tomorrow," he said. Asked if some alternative proposals might also be on the floor, he said, "we're going to have a conversation with our members today and we'll see what they have to say about it."

And if M.A.D. fails, there's always crocodile tears.

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/pentag ... oops-libya