White House Tells Congress: We're Not at War With Libya

By Jonathan Allen

White House officials told Democratic and Republican congressional aides Tuesday that the U.S. is not at war with Libya and, without laying out a timeline, that the president hopes to hand over control of coalition military operations in the next few days.

Officials present included representatives from the White House Legislative Affairs Office, several members of the intelligence community, a Treasury aide and Gene Cretz, the recently recalled U.S. ambassador to Libya, sources told POLITICO.

Aides in attendance said the administration didn't shed much new light on the situation.

"You learn more by having read the paper," one said.

The unclassified briefing, delivered to House and Senate aides in a Capitol Visitor Center auditorium, comes amid criticism that the administration did not consult enough with Congress before launching missile strikes on Libyan air defenses over the weekend.