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Joe Biden to Impeach Barack Obama Today?

When President George W. Bush announced the beginnings of the Iraq War on March 19, 2003, he said: “American and coalition forces are in the early stages of military operations to disarm Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger.” He then oversaw a military campaign in which the United States fought along side nearly 36 other countries – coalition forces – in a bid to oust the late Saddam Hussein.

Before making this announcement, Bush received congressional approval for the use of force in Iraq. (Which is when an upstart Senator from Illinois named Barack Obama “criticized…Bush for not asking Congress for a formal declaration of war.”)

Because Bush was successful in Iraq, as he had been Afghanistan, liberals feared that he might move against Iran. And they knew that success in Iran would mark a trifecta for Bush wherein the use of force would prove not just a viable option, but the best option for dealing with tyrants and terrorists throughout the world. (Pragmatically, Democrats also knew that the 2008 elections might not go their way if the Republicans had another successful military campaign of which to boast.)

So Democrats threw every obstacle they could find in Bush’s way. In November 2007, Senator Obama introduced S.J.Res.23, requiring that “any offensive military action taken by the United States against Iran must be explicitly authorized by Congress.” Then, in December 2007, he said: “[the] president does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation.”

Next, it was then-Senator Joe Biden’s turn, and Biden did his part by pledging to start impeachment proceedings against Bush if Iran were attacked without congressional approval. (With all the arrogance we’ve come to expect from him, Biden even admitted that his goal was to use impeachment as a tool to mar Bush’s “legacy…for all time” if the 43rd President dared attack Iran without first coming before Congress.)

On March 19, 2011, exactly 8 years after Bush announced the Iraq War, President Obama announced the U.S. offensive in Libya: “Today we are part of a broad coalition. We are answering the calls of a threatened people. And we are acting in the interests of the United States and the world.”

Before making this announcement, Obama did not receive congressional approval for the use of force against Libya nor did he ask Congress for a formal declaration of war. Instead, Obama did exactly what he said a president couldn’t do by undertaking a military action without congressional authorization. (Remember Obama’s words from 2007: “[the] president does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation.”)

Because this unilateral action against Libya clearly meets Biden’s threshold for impeachment, I am waiting with baited breath to see if Old Joe will act against Obama in the way he threatened to act against Bush.

Will he have the courage of his convictions? Will he use impeachment to mar Obama’s “legacy…for all time”?

No. Those were just words that were used to keep Bush in check long enough to allow Democrats to win a major office again. Those words really didn’t have any meaning.


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