President Barack Obama on Wednesday strongly defended his decision to intervene in Libya, saying he consulted with Congress and operated within legal guidelines in approving a narrow, UN-mandated mission. "We have carried out that narrow mission in exemplary fashion," Obama said in a televised news conference, saying that congressional critics of the Libya campaign were using the issue for political gain.
"A lot of this fuss is politics," Obama said. "We have engaged in a limited operation to help a lot of people against one of the worst tyrants in the world," he said, referring to Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi. "We should be sending out a unified message to this guy that he should step down and give his people a fair chance to live their lives without fear."
The House of Representatives defeated a move last week to curb US intervention in Libya but also delivered a symbolic rebuke to Obama by refusing another measure to formally authorise US participation in the Nato-led Libya mission. A similar authorisation measure passed a Senate committee this week but faces an uncertain future in the full Senate. The twin House votes starkly highlighted the ambivalence on Capitol Hill over US involvement in Libya's civil war. Some lawmakers argue that Obama violated the 1973 War Powers Resolution by failing to secure congressional authorisation after 60 days of hostilities, an argument the White House rejects.
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