I have become the exemplar of Obama Derangement Syndrome with a Friday post about the White House starting a mini-war in Africa. It was front-paged on Saturday and caused a bit of debate. So let me make some additional remarks.

I guess Leon Panetta’s admonition against reducing the US military presence had some foreknowledge. The President, in a letter to Congress, just acknowledged that he deployed approximately 100 combat forces to central Africa to assist in the fight against the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) there.

The fact that the Pentagon is handing out “imminent danger” pay to troops working in Libya suggests that “hostilities” are taking place.

We now have an innovation in executive power. During the Bush Administration, mid-level functionaries would be found to write legal justifications for waging war, committing acts of torture, or what have you. Now, during the Obama Administration, the top lawyers are free to give their considered opinion on these issues. But the President will simply overrule them.

If you thought that only Republican Administrations would assert broad and sweeping powers when they control the White House, think again.

The House leadership, prior to a closed caucus meeting, will devise a bill to continue US involvement in Libya, as a counterpoint to Dennis Kucinich’s War Powers resolution to end involvement. This comes just as over 60 House Republicans issued their own resolution of disapproval of the war in Libya.

The House Republican leadership, after agreeing to allow a vote on a privileged War Powers resolution from Dennis Kucinich which would end US involvement in the war in Libya, has now yanked that vote from the calendar….In a statement, Kucinich said he was “disappointed that the President and leadership feel the need to buy even more time to shore up support for the War in Libya.

Dennis Kucinich’s War Powers Act vote to end US involvement in the war in Libya, known as House Concurrent Resolution 51, will get a vote in the House tomorrow.

Three provisions of the PATRIOT Act set to expire were extended yesterday as Senate leaders effectively shut off debate and worked to block attempts to amend the Patriot Act to include privacy protections. The reauthorized provisions went to the House for approval and, after passing through Congress, the legislation was flown to US President Barack Obama in France so he could sign the reauthorization.

The President sent a letter to Congress today asking for a resolution of support of US military action in Libya. The letter came on the sixtieth day after the launch of the mission. The War Powers Act allows a President to engage in military action for 60 days without the express authorization of Congress, but only if the enemy represents an imminent threat to the United States, which Libya does not. The White House has used the War Powers Act as a basis for their actions in Libya.