The President cannot send US forces into war with Congress approval? right?
Wrong.
The President CAN send in forces if there is an eminent threat against the US or its citizens.
But Libya was not a threat to us so this doesn't fall under that rule right? Correct!
But...
In 1945, when the vote to join the U.N. was before the Senate, Senators Wheeler and Willis offered an amendment that "sought to require the President to obtain specific Congressional authorization before he could make armed forces available to the UNO Security Council to halt an aggression or to maintain peace. "
This amendment was voted down 65 - 9.
Because this amendment was voted down by the Senate, it allows the President, when acting with U.N. approval, has the right to use American military forces.
United Nations Participatory Act
The President shall not be deemed to require the authorization of the Congress to make available to the Security Council on its call in order to take action under article 42 of said Charter and pursuant to such special agreement or agreements the armed forces, facilities, or assistance provided for therein
Additionally, according to United Nations peacekeeping : the effectiveness of the legal framework : hearing before the Legislation and National Security Subcommittee of the Committee on Government Operations, House of Representatives, One Hundred Third Congress, second session, March 3, 1994 (1994)
Preventive or enforcement action by these forces upon the order of the Security Council would not be an act of war but would be international action for the preservation of the peace and for the purpose of preventing war. Consequently, the provisions of the Charter do not affect the exclusive power of the Congress to declare war.
So, regardless of how we feel about this latest military incursion into yet another country, the President is legally "making those forces available" to the U.N. Security Council, which is in full accordance with the laws of the United States.
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