Senators propose resolution for limited US role in Libya

• Tweet
• 
• 

• Tweet

WASHINGTON — Key Senate Democrats and Republicans introduced a resolution Monday endorsing limited US military intervention in Libya, more than two months after coalition raids began.

The text “supports the limited use of military force by the United States in Libya as part of the NATO mission to enforce United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973, as requested by the Transitional National Council, the Arab League and the Gulf Cooperation Council” to protect civilians.

Drawn up by Republican Senator John McCain, Democrat John Kerry and others, the document also said the Senate “agrees that the goal of United States policy in Libya, as stated by the president, is to achieve the departure from power of Moamer Kadhafi and his family, including through the use of non-military means.”

The operation seeks a “peaceful transition” to “an inclusive government that ensures freedom, opportunity and justice for the people of Libya,” it added.

Some Republicans last week questioned whether President Barack Obama, a Democrat, had sidestepped the War Powers Resolution of 1973 by not seeking congressional approval for the US mission.

Under the federal law, a president has a 60-day limit to send troops into combat without congressional approval. But the Obama administration maintains that permission was not required for a NATO support mission.