House calls for clarification of US role in Libya

The House of Representatives on Friday demanded that President Barack Obama clarify the US role in the conflict in Libya, but rejected an attempt to force him to end America's military involvement there.
The votes reflected lawmakers' unease over a third war along with Iraq and Afghanistan, and a view that Obama did not adequately consult Congress before joining a multinational operation that began conducting air strikes in March to protect Libyan civilians from attacks by Muammar Gaddafi's forces.
But while the measure that passed increases political pressure on Obama over the war, it is not binding on him. The House voted 268-145, with one voting present, for a resolution sponsored by Republican House Speaker John Boehner calling for the Obama administration to inform lawmakers within the next two weeks of the scope, duration and anticipated costs of the Libya mission within the next two weeks.
The resolution also reaffirmed a House vote last week forbidding US "boots on the ground" in Libya. Lawmakers rejected a rival resolution by Democrat Dennis Kucinich directing Obama to halt US participation in the Libyan war within 15 days. The vote was 148-265.
Nato is leading the intervention in Libya with a US contribution, but there are no US troops on the ground there. Lawmakers have called for Obama to clarify the US mission since he notified them on March 21 that he had ordered the intervention as part of a coalition conducting air strikes to shield Libyan civilians from Gaddafi's forces.
Supporters of Boehner's measure said it was a warning to Obama that if he doesn't consult more closely with lawmakers about the US role in Libya, Congress could take action that would be binding. The resolution notes that Congress could cut off funds for the war. "If this clear warning doesn't get the attention at the White House, then more forceful action may be inevitable," said Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the Republican chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Advocates of the Kucinich measure, an odd alliance of liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans, complained that Boehner's resolution was toothless, and that there were no plans to pass a similar measure through the Democratic-majority Senate. The Boehner resolution reprimands the president for not consulting Congress, asks for more information, "and then does nothing," said Representative Jim McGovern, a Democrat.