Obama's Interpretation of the War Powers Act

As I said earlier, the attack on Libya, while arguably justifiable, and legal according to international law, is of questionable constitutionality due to the fact that Congress has not declared war on Libya, nor has an authorization for the use of military force been issued.

Obama's defense is that the War Powers Act does not apply to American involvement in Libya, because American soldiers are not being put in harm's way.

The relevant text of the War Powers Act is as follows:
"SEC. 2. (a) It is the purpose of this joint resolution to fulfill the intent of the framers of the Constitution of the United States and insure that the collective judgement of both the Congress and the President will apply to the introduction of United States Armed Forces into hostilities, or into situations where imminent involvement in hostilities is clearly indicated by the circumstances, and to the continued use of such forces in hostilities or in such situations."

Now, I suppose one could interpret the prohibition of unapproved introduction of forces "into hostilities, or into situations where imminent involvement in hostilities is clearly indicated" to be intended simply to keep soldiers out of situations where they would be harmed. It seems to say "don't go into a war zone, and don't go into a place that is clearly becoming a war zone." The text, however, seems to prohibit more than just being introduced into hostilities. It also seems to prohibit involvement in hostilities. The fact that American forces are not somewhere they can be shot at, does not mean they are not involved.

Of course, if mere involvement in hostilities is that standard by which we should judge whether an action need congressional approval, then there are potentially many other conflicts in which American forces have involved themselves that must now be turned over to Congress.