OPINION:
President Obama shamefully cherry-picked to find legal support for the continuance of his war in Libya.
He rejected the opinions of his top lawyers in the Pentagon and Department of Justice, who think the president didn’t have the legal authority to continue the war. He instead sided with the legal analysis of several senior members of his legal team, who agreed his Libyan actions did not amount to hostilities, as no U.S. ground troops are involved, and the United States is only playing a supportive role. Thus, they said, he could continue U.S. actions there.
Going against the advice of his top Pentagon and Justice department lawyers was an extraordinarily rare move, though well within the president’s legal authority. Since a growing contingent of bipartisan members of Congress are opposed to his war efforts in Libya, which has lasted far longer than expected, it may be just a matter of time before Mr. Obama is forced to withdraw from Libya anyway.
KENNETH L. ZIMMERMAN
Huntington Beach, Calif.
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