But while all hoped for Gaddafi’s early departure, the price already has been very dear. Libya devoured leadership oxygen from what truly mattered: the upheavals in the rest of the Mideast (where, unlike in Libya, the United States has truly vital interests), and America itself, where future generations perish slowly in neglected public schools that offer no hope, where working Americans are thrown from their unaffordable homes into the streets, and where millions of Americans will never have jobs. Already, more than half a billion dollars they deserved for their survival has gone to Libya instead. ~Leslie Gelb

Part of this very good, and the other part is a bit of reach in Gelb’s attempt to link the Libyan war to the current budget debate. It’s clear that Libya has become a major distraction that has consumed time, money, resources, and attention that could have been used more productively addressing a number of more pressing matters. It’s definitely true that the Libyan war serves no American interest, and meanwhile American interests are being neglected partly because of the Libyan war. The Libyan war is a good example of how overextended and overly involved the U.S. is in international affairs, and one would think that it is the sort of thing that all those “isolationist” Millennials in the Democratic Party are talking about when they agree with the statement, “The U.S. is too involved in global affairs and should focus on more issues at home.” By the standards of the Brookings Institute, this is an “isolationist” view. Of course, it has nothing to do with “isolation” as opposed to engagement, and everything to do with priorities. Gelb is right that supporters of the Libyan war have their priorities all wrong.

There is a relationship between the budget debate and the Libyan war, but it isn’t quite as straightforward as Gelb says. Of course, the looming shutdown would prevent personnel supporting the attack on Libya from being paid, but that’s just part of it. Congress has appropriated no money for the Libya mission, so the war continues to be fought even without so-called “implicit authorization,” which was the bogus excuse the Clinton administration used to claim that the Kosovo war was legal. As a result, the war is being funded out of money already appropriated to the Pentagon, which is eating up funds that were intended for other military purposes. This is money that was already going to military spending, but on the basis of the continuing resolution that has kept Pentagon funding at 2010 levels. Meanwhile, the coincidence of the undeclared Libyan war and the expiration of the continuing resolution means that the Senate will not start debate on Libya until after the budget is finished.

We have on display right now two of the worst traits of modern American government: executive usurpation and Congressional abdication on war powers, and massive dysfunction in handling the most basic task of passing a budget. By unhappy coincidence, continuing failure to resolve the budget impasse is preventing Congress from even considering the matter of Libya, to say nothing of authorizing it or funding it. The consequences of this won’t affect people here at home as much as they will adversely affect other parts of the military, but in Congress’ ongoing failure to fulfill some of its most significant responsibilities all Americans are being very poorly represented and served.