While national attention is on the war in Afghanistan after the President’s announcement last night to only withdraw 33,000 U.S. troops by the end of next summer, Congress is gearing up again to debate another U.S.-led war–in Libya.
While there is resounding, and ever growing, opposition to the war in Libya in the House, the loudest voices from the Senate have, for the most part, been supportive of the war, though even that could be changing soon.
Rep. Howard McKeon, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, explained that the measure, which is still being drafted, would ban funding for U.S. participation in combat missions such as drone attacks in the NATO-led air war.
“It would not have funding for hostilities. The drones couldn’t be used for bombing,” McKeon said.
Meanwhile, Senator John Kerry and Senator John McCain continue to try to gain support for their resolution which would authorize U.S. military operations in Libya–while prohibiting ground troops–for one year. Their resolution continues to be delayed, and now it seems likely there won’t be a floor debate for weeks.
As The Cable’s Josh Rogin reports, “In interviews Tuesday with more than a dozen senators, The Cable discovered that it will take weeks, not days, for the resolution to come up for a vote. The resolution’s language is only the starting point for a Senate debate that will feature resolutions and amendments from multiple senators, each of whom has his or her own ideas on how to express the Senate’s position on the fighting in Libya.