"The president was very clear at the onset that U.S. involvement [in Libya] would be limited in scope and engagement ... with no troops on the ground," a senior administration official said Wednesday.
U.S. forces led the international operation at the outset in February, then handed control over to NATO.
"We're now in a position where we are operating in a support role," said White House Counsel Robert Bauer. "We're not engaged in war power analysis. ... We're not engaged in sustained fighting ... [or] exchange of fire."
Most importantly, without troops on the ground in Libya, "we don't risk casualties," Bauer added.
The administration sent Congress a legal defense of Obama's military authorization Wednesday, one day after House Speaker John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, gave Obama a Sunday deadline to withdraw U.S. support from the international mission in Libya or risk violating the 1973 War Powers Act, which requires U.S. presidents to seek congressional approval before engaging in war.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers also announced a federal lawsuit Wednesday that charges Obama with violating the act.
"This president believes that he has acted in a manner that is consistent with the War Powers Resolution," White House press secretary Jay Carney said. "We think that [the report] will answer the questions that members have about the mission."
Bauer reassured members of Congress that the administration is "in no way putting into question the constitutionality of the War Powers Resolution," noting that some on Capital Hill were concerned that their "war-making powers" were being "impinged" upon.
To back up its legal defense, the administration also delivered positive news on the effort in Libya.
"The bottom line is, this operation has achieved a great deal in just over two months in terms of saving lives and in terms of pushing back [Libyan President Moammar] Gadhafi's operation," a senior administration official said. "We have time working against Gadhafi."
Americans have grown weary of the Libyan conflict as Gadhafi refuses to stand down.
Carney on Wednesday blamed Congress for adding to the Libya fatigue, saying "now is not the time" to question U.S. involvement.
"We think it is important for Congress not to send mixed messages about a goal that I think [we share]," he said.
Senior officials said international diplomats are trying to devise ways to entice Gadhafi to leave the country, but they wouldn't detail any potential agreements.
"There is a growing interest in bringing the conflict in Libya to an end," one official said. And there is a growing consensus, the official said, "that ending the conflict is going to have to involve Gadhafi stepping aside."
hpeterson@washingtonexaminer.com
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