Reply #24: There should have been at least a discussion of Presidential intent

[snappyturtle]

before proceeding. Unfortunately, there's plenty of precedence for the President's action.

http://www.npr.org/2011/03/21/134730963/the-nation-in-libya-us-forgot-about-congress

The Nation: In Libya, U.S. Forgot About Congress--by John Nichols

snip~

"President Obama's approval of an intervention in Libya has also skipped the Congress.

Was this necessary? Of course not. Obama could have consulted Congress; indeed, if the issue was pressing, he could have asked that the House and Senate be called into session over the weekend. Had the president gone to the Congress, it is doubtful that he would have met with opposition. As noted above, Gadhafi has few defenders.

Consulting Congress does not mean that Congress will block a war. The constitutional system of checks and balances was not established merely to stop wars; it was established to allow members of Congress to add their insights, to propose timelines, to set limits and parameters for military initiatives.

The debate, the discussion, the sifting and winnowing of information: This is the point."