Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., continued to argue that President Donald Trump’s attacks on Iran and former President Barack Obama’s strikes on Libya were “two completely different things” despite many shared similarities between the two incidents.
Pelosi has condemned Trump’s strikes while defending President Barack Obama back in 2011.
“They’re not at all alike,” Pelosi said.
“What Obama did was limited military force. This is beyond that. It was limited military force,” she continued.
Since Trump began Operation Epic Fury last Saturday, targeting Iran’s military leadership alongside Israel, Pelosi and other Democrats have fiercely condemned the attack, arguing that the president should have sought congressional approval before carrying them out, citing the War Powers Act of 1983.
According to that law, a president must inform Congress within 48 hours if U.S. forces are introduced into hostilities and requires congressional authorization for engagements that go past 60 days.
Pelosi believes Trump’s attack on Iran will likely carry the U.S. past that mark, leading her to believe Trump has skirted the requirements imposed by Congress.
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“Do your homework. Read the law. We have lost people in war already,” Pelosi said. “We don’t even know if these people admit that is war going on now.”
“I just think if you read the law, you will see the difference.”
The War Powers Act does not use the loss of American servicemembers as a trigger for Congressional approval.
Her stance on Iran runs counter to her previous support for President Obama when he carried out strikes of his own on Libya in 2011.
Then, in partnership with other North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies, the U.S. bombed the forces of Al Gaddafi, the “Mad Dog of the Middle East” and the dictator of Libya.
In a parallel to the recent uprisings in Iran, protesters in Libya at the time had been met with brutal force by Gaddafi, who used the military to repress opposition in cities like Benghazi. Obama framed his attack as a way to protect Libya’s civilian population against its own government.
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“We struck regime forces approaching Benghazi to save that city and the people within it,” Obama said in remarks after the attacks,” according to a press release at the time.
Although Obama did not pursue congressional authorization, Pelosi said she believed Obama was well within his authority to carry out the strikes.
“I’m satisfied that the president has the authority to go ahead,” Pelosi said of the Libya strikes. “I say that as one very protective of Congressional prerogative and consultation all along the way.”
“Yes,” Pelosi answered plainly when asked if she believed Obama could continue without congressional say-so.
