Rep. Amash says president 'ignored' Constitution in Libya decision

Freshman Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) on Wednesday charged that President Obama violated the Constitution by deciding to bomb Libya without congressional approval.

"The Constitution clearly authorizes Congress with the power to declare war, and the president has basically ignored the Constitution by firing missiles at another country without seeking congressional approval," Amash said in a radio interview on 1340 AM WJRW in Michigan.

Amash added that Democratic senators who say Obama's decision was constitutional are "just wrong." He said the 1973 War Powers Resolution only allows the president to take military action without approval from Congress when there is an "imminent threat to the country," and implied that the uprising in Libya does not qualify as an imminent threat.

"They should halt all strikes against Libya — the president should come back to the Congress and say, 'this is what I want to do, and I'm awaiting your authorization,' " Amash said.

On the question of whether the U.S. action might have positive results in Libya, Amash said it's difficult to answer that question, since he does not understand the parameters of the operation. More broadly, he said the U.S. should not "be policing every country around the world," and that he supports removing troops from Afghanistan because he is not clear on the objectives in that country.

Amash said at the end of the interview that he would not run against Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), who faces an election next year. "I'm not running for Senate in 2012," he said.