“Congress affirms that–
(1) the United States is engaged in an armed conflict with al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and associated forces and that those entities continue to pose a threat to the United States and its citizens, both domestically and abroad;
(2) the President has the authority to use all necessary and appropriate force during the current armed conflict with al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and associated forces pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force (Public Law 107-40; 50 U.S.C. 1541 note);
(3) the current armed conflict includes nations, organization, and persons who–
(A) are part of, or are substantially supporting, al-Qaeda, the Taliban, or associated forces that are engaged in hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners; or
(B) have engaged in hostilities or have directly supported hostilities in aid of a nation, organization, or person described in subparagraph (A); and
(4) the President’s authority pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force (Public Law 107-40; 50 U.S.C. 1541 note) includes the authority to detain belligerents, including persons described in paragraph (3), until the termination of hostilities.”Study to see if you can fix any limit to his power in this respect, after you have given him so much as you propose. This language would put into law the perilous policies now acted upon outside of the law. President Obama’s war in Libya is absolutely unconstitutional, and nobody is about to do anything about that; so perhaps this doesn’t matter. But with this language on the books, Obama and every future president would be able to legally, albeit unconstitutionally, justify launching any war at pleasure.
This new “legal” language would get presidents around the restrictions of the War Powers Resolution, which does not permit unauthorized wars when the United States has not been attacked, which requires the reporting of information to Congress that, in the case of Libya, has not been reported, and which only permits wars — when it does permit wars — for 60 days, a deadline that has now been reached in Libya. According to the War Powers Resolution:
“The constitutional powers of the President as Commander-in-Chief to introduce United States Armed Forces into hostilities, or into situations where imminent involvement in hostilities is clearly indicated by the circumstances, are exercised only pursuant to
(1) a declaration of war,
(2) specific statutory authorization, or
(3) a national emergency created by attack upon the United States, its territories or possessions, or its armed forces.”
In addition:
“The President in every possible instance shall consult with Congress before introducing United States Armed Forces into hostilities or into situations where imminent involvement in hostilities is clearly indicated by the circumstances, and after every such introduction shall consult regularly with the Congress until United States Armed Forces are no longer engaged in hostilities or have been removed from such situations.”
In the case of Libya, Obama carefully avoided any consultation with Congress but took the time to consult with just about everybody else around the world.
The War Powers Resolution also requires that:
“[T]he President shall submit within 48 hours to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and to the President pro tempore of the Senate a report, in writing, setting forth –
(A) the circumstances necessitating the introduction of United States Armed Forces;
(B) the constitutional and legislative authority under which such introduction took place; and
(C) the estimated scope and duration of the hostilities or involvement.”
Obama’s report to Congress on Libya fell short of A and B and did not even attempt C.
When it comes to the now-surpassed 60-day-limit, the law is clear:
“Within sixty calendar days after a report is submitted or is required to be submitted pursuant to section 1543 (a)(1) of this title, whichever is earlier, the President shall terminate any use of United States Armed Forces with respect to which such report was submitted (or required to be submitted), unless the Congress
(1) has declared war or has enacted a specific authorization for such use of United States Armed Forces,
(2) has extended by law such sixty-day period, or
(3) is physically unable to meet as a result of an armed attack upon the United States.”
The War Powers Act, in allowing 60-day unconstitutional wars is itself, of course, a step back from the Constitution as its authors, most readers, and President Lincoln have understood it. The Constitution devotes Article I to bestowing the vast majority of governmental power on Congress, including here:
“The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States; . . . . To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offenses against the Law of Nations; To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water; To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years; To provide and maintain a Navy; To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces; To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions; To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress; To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings; And To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.”
In tiny little Article II, the U.S. Constitution establishes the duties of the president:
“[H]e shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed.”
What else shall he do?
“The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States.”
Let’s go to constitutional scholar, Barack Hussein Obama for an explanation of this supreme law of the land:
“The President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation.” — candidate Barack Obama, December, 2007.
“No more ignoring the law when it’s inconvenient. That is not who we are . . . . We will again set an example for the world that the law is not subject to the whims of stubborn rulers.” — candidate Barack Obama, August 1, 2007.
White House on War Powers Deadline: ‘Limited’ US Role in Libya Means No Need to Get Congressional AuthorizationIn an effort to satisfy those arguing he needs to seek congressional authorization to continue US military activity in accordance with the War Powers Resolution, President Obama wrote a letter to congressional leaders this afternoon suggesting that the role is now so “limited” he does not need to seek congressional approval.
Comment: Yesterday NATO sank 8 Libyan warships in one day, in what sense is that “limited” military action?
Jake Tapper
ABC News
May 21, 2011
In an effort to satisfy those arguing he needs to seek congressional authorization to continue US military activity in accordance with the War Powers Resolution, President Obama wrote a letter to congressional leaders this afternoon suggesting that the role is now so “limited” he does not need to seek congressional approval.
“Since April 4,” the president wrote, “U.S. participation has consisted of: (1) non-kinetic support to the NATO-led operation, including intelligence, logistical support, and search and rescue assistance; (2) aircraft that have assisted in the suppression and destruction of air defenses in support of the no-fly zone; and (3) since April 23, precision strikes by unmanned aerial vehicles against a limited set of clearly defined targets in support of the NATO-led coalition’s efforts.”
A senior administration official told ABC News that the letter is intended to describe “a narrow US effort that is intermittent and principally an effort to support to support the ongoing NATO-led and UN-authorized civilian support mission and no fly zone.”
“The US role is one of support,” the official said, “and the kinetic pieces of that are intermittent.”
Full article here
Obama violates War Powers Act?
RT
May 21, 2011
Attack on Iran Imminent With Accusation of 9/11 Role?
Before it’s News
May 21, 2011
Editor’s Note: This is all according to the PNAC script. Guess they figure the American sheeple are dumbed down enough to where they can get away with any nonsense they want to throw out there. They never even proved Bin Laden had anything to do with 9/11, never mind prove Iraq had anything to do with it yet they’ve decimated two whole countries, are invading others, and now want to take on Iran. China won’t stand idly by. These insane boys are itching for a big fight and it’s all deliberate. Stay vigilant and prepared. -Z)
Iran accused of September 11 role
Benjamin Weiser, Scott Shane
The Sydney Morning Herald
Two defectors from Iran’s intelligence service have testified that Iranian officials knew in advance about the attacks of September 11, 2001, says a US court filing that seeks damages for Iran’s ”direct support for, and sponsorship of, the most deadly act of terrorism in American history”.
One of the defectors also claimed that Iran was involved in designing the attacks, the filing said. The defectors’ identities and testimony were not revealed in the filing but were being submitted to a judge under seal, said lawyers who brought the original suit against Iran on behalf of families of dozens of September 11 victims.
The suit says Iran and Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group with close ties to Tehran, helped al-Qaeda with planning the attacks and with the hijackers’ training and travel. After the attacks, the suit says, Iran and Hezbollah helped al-Qaeda operatives and their families to escape, in some cases providing them with a safe haven in Iran.
New Details On Al Qaeda Pentagon Lunch: Defense Dept. Was “Impressed” With Terrorist’s Presentation
New details have emerged in the case of the Al Qaeda front man who was invited to a Pentagon lunch just months after the 9/11 attacks.
Top Pentagon lawyer booked known extremist as featured guest speaker
Steve Watson & Paul Joseph Watson
Prisonplanet.com
May 20, 2011
New details have emerged in the case of the Al Qaeda front man who was invited to a Pentagon lunch just months after the 9/11 attacks.
As we previously reported, official government documents obtained by Fox News last year revealed that Al-Qaeda terror mastermind Anwar Al-Awlaki, the man who helped plot the aborted Christmas Day underwear bombing, the Fort Hood shooting, the Times Square bombing attempt, and who also preached to the alleged September 11 hijackers, dined at the Pentagon on February 5, 2002.
The documents included the minutes of an FBI interview conducted after the Fort Hood shooting in November 2009, that stated Awlaki was taken to the Pentagon as part of the military’s “outreach to the moderate Muslim community” in the immediate aftermath of the attacks.
Awlaki was vetted before he was invited to attend a luncheon at the Pentagon in the secretary of the Army’s Office of Government Counsel. His appearance at the meeting was deliberately engineered despite Awlaki’s ties to three of the alleged 9/11 hijackers – Nawaf al-Hazmi, Khalid al-Mihdhar and Hani Hanjour – who were identified as the suicide pilots that slammed Flight 77 into the Pentagon.
Following the Fort Hood shooting it was also revealed that shooter Major Nidal Malik Hasan had been in contact with Awlaki before the rampage. Awlaki preached to both Hasan and the 9/11 hijackers at the Dar al-Hijrah mosque in Falls Church, Virginia in 2001.
Click here to read a portion of the documents.
The revelations, which were left unexplained by the Pentagon, served as yet more evidence pointing to the long documented suggestion that the US born Yemeni national turned radical imam is a double agent intelligence operative.
Now Fox News has obtained more details on the Pentagon event, including an internal Department of Defense email that describes the event in detail.
The email was sent to over 70 members of staff by a lawyer from the Pentagon’s Office of the General Counsel.
It describes Awlaki as the featured guest speaker on “Islam and Middle Eastern Politics and Culture.”
“I have reserved one of the executive dining rooms for February 5th, which is the date he (Awlaki) preferred,” the defense department lawyer wrote in the e-mail.
“He (Awlaki) will be leaving for an extensive period of time on February 11th.” the email continues.
The lawyer, who was responsible for vetting Awlaki, goes on to write that she “had the privilege of hearing one of Mr. Awlaki’s presentations in November and was impressed by both the extent of his knowledge and by how he communicated that information and handled a hostile element in the audience.”
It is inconceivable that a top Department of Defense lawyer was unaware that Al-Awlaki was interviewed at least four times by the FBI in the first eight days after the Sept. 11 attacks because of his ties to the three hijackers Nawaf al-Hazmi, Khalid al-Mihdhar and Hani Hanjour.
Confirmation that Awlaki met with Pentagon officials after having inspired the very 9/11 hijackers that are blamed for flying a commercial airliner into the Pentagon provides yet more startling evidence that the highest levels of Al-Qaeda are completely penetrated and run by the US military industrial complex, which via patsy handlers like Awlaki is staging false flag attacks to boost their own domestic and geopolitical agenda.
The new documents were gleaned via a Freedom of Information Act request. Fox News is scheduled to air a program entitled Secrets of 9/11, which will cover the Awlaki case tonight (Friday 20 May 2011) at 10 p.m. ET.