Kucinich: End the Libya War in Two Steps

Washington D.C. (June 23, 2011) – Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), who has led House opposition to the war in Libya, is today urging Members of Congress to support a two-step process to end the war in Libya and to promote a political solution. He sent the following letter to colleagues:

June 23, 2011

End the War in Two Steps

Dear Colleague:

The war in Libya is illegal, unconstitutional and unwarranted. It must end. Congress must use the power of the purse to cut off funds for the war and reassert its Constitutional authority over war as enshrined in Article 1, Section 8.

I have proposed an amendment, with Representative Amash (R-MI) and 11 others, to the FY2012 Defense Appropriations bill that would eliminate all funds for military operations in Libya. It would prohibit the Administration from continuing the war and would take effect when the new fiscal year begins on October 1, 2011. I urge you vote in favor of this bipartisan amendment which will come up for a vote when Congress returns after the July 4th recess.

Representative Rooney has proposed legislation, H.R. 2278, that would immediately prevent the Administration from engaging in direct, offensive hostilities in Libya.

The Rooney resolution is not perfect. It does not end the war immediately, which is what many of us want. It allows the United States to provide “non-kinetic” intelligence and operational support for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, but it does make clear that the United States will not take over the war as European support continues to diminish.

H.R. 2278 and the Kucinich-Amash amendment are complementary. If we want to end U.S. involvement in the war in Libya we can do it in two steps.

Step 1: Vote YES for H.R. 2278, which ends U.S. direct hostilities immediately.

Step 2: Vote YES for the Kucinich-Amash resolution to end all involvement in the war by October 1, 2011.

Let us use our constitutional authority to bring an end to a war and let us promote a political solution.

Sincerely,

Dennis J. Kucinich

Member of Congress

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