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June 21, 2011
No 'hostilities' in Libya but troops get pay boost for serving in 'imminent danger'
What kind of stuttering response would Obama give to a question about this? The Defense Department decided in April to pay an extra $225 a month in "imminent danger pay" to service members who fly planes over Libya or serve on ships within 110 nautical miles of its shores. That means the Pentagon has decided that troops in those places are "subject to the threat of physical harm or imminent danger because of civil insurrection, civil war, terrorism or wartime conditions." There are no U.S. ground troops in Libya. President Obama declared last week that the three-month-old Libyan campaign should not be considered "hostilities." That word is important, because it's used in the 1973 War Powers Resolution: Presidents must obtain congressional authorization within a certain period after sending U.S. forces "into hostilities." Obama's reasoning was that he did not need that authorization because U.S. forces were playing a largely supportive and logistical role, and because Libyan defenses...(Read Full Post)