WASHINGTON – The U.S. and NATO will continue military operations in Libya as long as Moammar Gadhafi keeps attacking his people, the White House said Friday as top U.S. officials met in Washington with leaders of the Libyan opposition.
The meetings come as a deadline nears on the 60-day window President Barack Obama has to keep the U.S. military involved in the Libya campaign without congressional approval.
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While lawmakers do not appear likely to enforce the limits outlined in the War Powers Resolution, U.S. officials said they are looking for ways to keep U.S. action in Libya in compliance.
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White House spokesman Jay Carney offered no specifics Friday on how the U.S. planned to do that, only saying that officials were, "in regular communications with Congress and that will continue."
The U.S. has stepped up its support of anti-Gadhafi rebels, with Obama authorizing $25 million in non-lethal assistance and $53 million in humanitarian aid. Leaders of the Libyan Transitional National Council, including top representative Mahmoud Jibril, were in Washington for meetings at the White House and State Department. Neither Obama nor Vice President Joe Biden planned to attend the meetings.
The White House said it was looking for ways to increase U.S. financial support to the opposition, in part through congressional legislation that would free up a portion of the more than $30 billion in frozen Gadhafi regime assets in U.S. banks so it could be used to aid the rebels.
| Perfect. Use the money to repay our costs to date as well. Buy more Tomahawks and Hellfires. |
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