Will Grigg?s Liberty Minute

March 8, 2012

The Obama administration can obtain ?legal? authority for a military strike on Syria from the UN or NATO, and no congressional authorization is necessary, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta insisted during testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

?Do you think you can act without Congress to initiate a no-fly zone in Syria?? asked Sen. Jeff Sessions.

?Our goal would be to seek international permission,? replied Panetta, adding ? as if by way of patronizing afterthought ? that ?we would come to the Congress and inform you? about the progress of the campaign. Once ?legal permission? had been granted by NATO or ?some kind of UN Security Council resolution,? he maintained, Obama wouldn?t need authorization from Congress.

Significantly, the Obama administration?s intervention in Libya was coordinated by the NATO alliance (a regional UN affiliate), which acted on the supposed authority provided by a UN Security Council resolution issued in response to a petition from the Arab League. Congress played no role whatsoever in authorizing the action. The administration seeks to repeat that approach with Syria, most likely as a back door to war with Iran.

With his testimony, Panetta implicated himself, and his president, in high crimes against our Constitution.

Let us take back the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free.