Democratic leaders blasting President Donald Trump’s military strikes on Iran say the situation differs from the 2011 bombing campaign in Libya carried out under former President Barack Obama.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries criticized the Trump administration following strikes against Iran, arguing that the president failed to seek congressional authorization before launching military operations. Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin asked Jeffries why Democrats insist Trump must seek congressional approval for strikes against Iran while some party leaders previously defended Obama’s decision to launch air operations in Libya without explicit authorization from Congress.
“Back in 2011, Nancy Pelosi said that then President Obama didn’t need congressional approval to bomb Libya. Now House Democrats say President Trump needs that approval to bomb Iran. What’s the difference?” Melugin asked the minority leader.
“Well, obviously Libya and the circumstances connected to that were very different from the circumstances that we face in Iran right now. I mean, I don’t even understand the genesis or basis of that question. I suggest that you’re not asking in good faith. Libya went on for seven months, as I’ve indicated,” Jeffries responded. “First of all, I was not in Congress at the time. So we’re dealing with what we’re dealing with right now, which is a catastrophic, endless war, as Donald Trump has characterized it, without any justification that there was going to be a preeminent assault or attack on the United States of America, either in our homeland or as it relates to our interests in the Middle East.”
U.S. officials said the Trump’s Operation Epic Fury aimed to eliminate “imminent threats” from the Iranian regime, including missile capabilities and potential nuclear weapons development. The Trump administration said the objective of the strikes was to defend the United States by neutralizing threats posed by Iran’s military infrastructure and leadership.
Melugin later contacted the office of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for statement regarding the issue. Pelosi’s office argued that the two conflicts cannot be compared.
“There is an absolute distinction between the limited military operations in Libya and the broad, escalating war with Iran initiated by President Trump. ‘Speaker Pelosi’s position has been consistent: when the prospect of expansive or prolonged hostilities exists, the Constitution and the War Powers Act are clear that Congress must authorize it,” the statement said. “Meanwhile, President Trump’s position has been entirely inconsistent: breaking his promise to not start new wars, oscillating in his rationale for this war, and shifting the goal posts of his objectives for the war.”
Pelosi’s claim that the Libya intervention was merely a “limited military operation” contrasts with reports that the U.S.-backed NATO campaign lasted roughly seven months and involved thousands of airstrike missions against Libyan forces after Obama ordered the strikes without seeking congressional authorization.
The intervention triggered a major debate in Washington over whether the administration had bypassed Congress under the War Powers Resolution, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. The NATO operation ultimately played a role in the collapse of the regime of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
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