Will Obama Administration allow strict 'Sharia law' to be imposed on the freed Libyan people?

So the six month time limit under the War Powers Resolution Act for the President to either withdraw from “military intervention” in the Libyan civil war or receive Congressional approval came and went without much adieu.

True to form and our prior analysis, (see here and here), that leaves the progressive presidency of Barack Obama on record as entirely at one with the policy of the more conservative Reagan, Bush 41 and Bush 43 Presidencies in his assessment that the War Powers Act is something that can not only be unilaterally deemed “unconstitutional” by the Executive branch, but can, for all practical purposes, be ignored altogether, (how's that for the “Rule of Law” instead of men?!)

We shall leave aside that the actions of this Administration in doing so have arguably given this landmark culmination and compromise in our constitutional framework stemming from the political activism of the 60's “peace and flower” movement less respect than any previous one in history except perhaps Bill Clinton's, (and noticeably different from either of the Bush's, who in fact sought, and received, Congressional approval for the war in Afghanistan and both Iraq actions), and that this is the very sort of thing that used to tie liberal panties in a string, (remember all that media focus on the alleged “cowboy recklessness” of George W. Bush?)

Be that as it may, it is small potatoes compared to the bomb dropped this week, (no pun intended!) that the victors in the Libyan “civil war,” the so called “National Transitional Council,” intend on imposing Sharia law as the basis for the new Libyan Constitution. Excuse me?!?

Please tell me that we did not place our brave American servicemen and women in danger and spend almost 10 billion American taxpayer dollars in this impromptu― and some say extraordinarily bungled hesitant and late entry of the Obama Administration into the conflagration weeks after the rebels asked for help, see here― to simply replace one form of tyranny for another over the Libyan people.

It would be a cruel irony indeed if we replaced one brutal dictator with the entire oppressive legal framework of Sharia law that routinely denies women the most basic rights and brutalizes everyone who doesn't adhere to its tenants, (including denying Christians and Jews, who would inevitably be the minority in such a government), the right to worship and share their beliefs freely, see here and here).

  So ominous and, yes, dare we say un-Democratic is the likely result of Sharia law that it has even come up in the American Presidential race to replace Barack Obama in 2012, (see here, here, here, here and here).

For those unenlightened Sharia law is a strict implementation of Islamic law that does not allow women to vote or own property, bans all music and consumption of alcohol, and executes homosexuals and Christian converts from Islam alike, (see details here). 

  In short, it would be a disaster for the Libyan people who have so long yearned for freedom and make a mockery of our sacrifice to free them from Gadaffi's grip, (of course, judging from Obama's own history and attendance at Islamic Madrassas in Indonesia where he spent the majority of his formative years, we don't expect the Administration to care about the results that imposing strict Sharia law would have on the Libyan people's freedoms, not to mention our countries own legal traditions, see here). 

  Accordingly, perhaps it should come as no surprise that Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, the President of the National Transitional Council and the de facto (if temporary) ruler of Libya, should state that Sharia will form the "basic source" of Libyan law going forward and that laws in opposition to it will be nullified. 

  Indeed, contrary to the former Libyan Constitution of 1951 which under Article 11 guaranteed secular and equal rights to all regardless of religious affiliation but now seems likely to provide greater freedoms than the "new" Libyan Constitution will to its citizens, it has become abundantly clear that the new and imminent Constitution, (which is expected within 60 days of elections for a national legislative body, i.e., "Public National Conference" scheduled to occur within 8 months), will be based upon “Sharia law,” see here and here.  (And this in spite of the political left openly mocking those who warned of the possibility of influence from radical elements of the Muslim Brotherhood in the nations being convulsed by the "Arab Spring" resulting in a less than an apple pie and American-flag- waving-outcome, see here, here and here).   

 The Congress and State Department ought to do everything it possibly can to discourage this turn of events and convince the new leadership of the Libyan “republic” that America will take an extremely dim view of Sharia law being imposed and that such an outcome would unequivocally result in a cutting off of any financial or reconstruction aid Libya might otherwise expect in the post “intervention” period.

And while we're at it, we might also send them a bill for our investment to date in freeing them from Ghadafi's iron grip.

After all, if we're going to act like the world's policeman, it's only fair we be compensated for it. jp