Kucinich warns Obama that he's going after funding for Libya

Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) notified President Obama Thursday of his plan to introduce an amendment in the House that would defund the U.S. intervention in Libya, saying it's time to "stop U.S. participation in the war entirely."

Since the U.S. began enforcing a United Nations Security Council no-fly zone resolution and performing airstrikes on Libyan military targets, Kucinich has been one of the most outspoken opponents of American involvement.

The liberal congressman is among a handful of lawmakers who criticized Obama for not getting congressional authorization before authorizing the U.S. military to enforce the no-fly zone.

The White House pushed back on that criticism Thursday, saying lawmakers were briefed and consulted at length before the airstrikes began. White House spokesman Jay Carney said the U.S. had to act quickly in Libya to save lives.

Kucinich sent a letter to his colleagues in Congress on Tuesday announcing his plans to introduce an amendment to defund the intervention.

In the letter to Obama, Kucinich voiced his opposition to the Libya operation on procedural and economic grounds and criticized the president's objectives.

"I believe these missteps so far seriously compromise the course of military intervention you have initiated," Kucinich wrote at the bottom of the letter. "The only way I can see to correct them is to stop U.S. participation in the war entirely. As such, I intend to offer an amendment to the next general funding measure to be considered by Congress to defund U.S. military intervention in Libya."

Kucinich said his co-sponsors for the defunding amendment are Reps. Walter Jones (R-N.C.), Pete Stark (D-Calif.) and Ron Paul (R-Texas). 

Read Kucinich's letter below: