Checks and Balances Essay - 636 Words

Ben Favorite POL 101 American Government J. M. Pullen 3/15/12 Checks and Balances In late 2011 President Obama sent troops to Libya to aid in the search for Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, and he did so without congressional approval. Under the War Powers Resolution the President has 60 days (in some cases 90 days) to acquire permission from congress for the mission to continue. However when Mr. Obama passed the 60 day deadline without congressional approval, the question was posed, â€Å"Does President Obama have the authority to bypass the War Powers Resolution and have the troop remain in Libya?† the short answer is no he does not. I do believe President Obama was in fact overstepping his bounds for several reasons, first I believe in the†¦show more content†¦Therefore the very act of being in Libya with the allied forces, whether we were staring down the sights of an M4 at them or firing rockets from drones, we were in opposition to the Libyan military, and thus involved in hostilities. The Obama administration’s argument th at our level of involvement did not qualify as the hostilities referred to in the War Powers resolution is not valid. Based on the definition of hostilities, we were definitely within the parameters of the War Powers Resolution. That makes Presidents Obama’s decision to ignore the 60 day limit a huge violation of the War Powers Act. Finally, on several instances the Obama administration ensured congress that the U.S was stepping down as the leader of the coalition forces and that we would be playing a much smaller role in the operation. While we did step down from the leadership, the U.S. continued to deploy the most supplies and weapons, particularly predator missiles, and large numbers of remote controlled drones. While trying to convince congress that we were stepping down to a non- hostile role we were still being as hostile as we could be, apart from kicking down Qaddafi’s door ourselves. I’m sure misleading congress to bypass a law is definitely oversteppi ng the bounds of the President’s authority. In conclusion I believe President Obama has clearly overstepped his bounds and authority in this situation. Not only by ignoring the mandated deadlines setShow MoreRelatedChecks and Balances678 Words   |  3 PagesCivilization. Checks and balances The Constitution separates the power of government into three branches: the legislative power is vested in the Congress, the executive power rests with the President and his bureaucracy and the judicial power is granted to the Supreme Court and other federal courts. Whereas each branch of government has separate and particular powers as listed in the Constitution, each branch is also given the power, duty and ability to control and balance the other(s) in a systemRead MoreChecks and Balances1128 Words   |  5 Pages Checks and Balances. Checks and balances is a system that is a part of out U.S. Constitution. 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