Oh hell, no.
Also, “Leahy praised Obama for breaking from the practice of recent presidents acting to use force without expressed backing from Congress.” Huh, what? He’s only doing it as a out, he still says he isn’t required to do it. Moreover, what other “recent presidents are they talking about? Bush got Congressional authorization. Obama operated without it in attacking Libya.
Via Roll Call:
It took less than 24 hours for lawmakers to realize that the draft authorization for the use of military force sent to Congress by President Barack Obama would open the door to a prolonged war with Syria.
That’s not something that Obama or top administration have been publicly pushing for — all indications are that the plan is for targeted action to deter the regime of Bashar al-Assad from further use of chemical weapons. But, as became clear on Capitol Hill on Sunday, Congress has no appetite for the broader mandate that the White House technically proposed.
As #WGDB noted Saturday night, the draft would authorize Obama to use U.S. military assets “as he determines to be necessary and appropriate” to prevent Assad from using or proliferating chemical weapons and other types of weapons of mass destruction.
Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., reportedly said after a Sunday afternoon classified briefing in the Capitol that administration officials had conceded the resolution language would be modified.
“I think the biggest question I heard is that the president’s request is open-ended,” Roberts said, according to The Washington Post.