Military actions for oil now cool

Trouble in Libya?  Who knew?  Today the news has quietly trickled out that Navy SEALS used a military operation to board and secure an oil tanker near Cyprus carrying Libyan oil with the intention of bringing the pilferers and oil back to Libya.  So why is the president doing this and under what authority is he acting?

By all accounts this is a civil squabble in the new Libya.  Some want federalism, especially those sitting in the east where all the oil lies.  Not surprisingly, the Tripoli government--in the west--wants a solid union (controlled by them).  Here's a nutshell of the politics:

Now the American intervention has dealt a serious blow to perhaps the Libyan government’s greatest foe, Ibrahim Jathran, the 33-year-old leader of the eastern Libyan militia that blockaded the ports and tried to sell the oil. Mr. Jathran, a former rebel who fought against Colonel Qaddafi, was initially named to lead a force protecting the oil infrastructure.

He has since allied himself with the so-called federalist movement demanding more power, autonomy and oil revenue for the nation’s eastern region, which contains most of Libya’s reserves. He has refused to reopen the ports until the central government agrees to investigate allegations of corruption in its oil sales and give the east a larger cut of the proceeds.

According to this report the federalist supporters are not AQ or Islamic radicals, they actually oppose each other.  So, under what authority were our SEALS operating?   Was it the AUMF or a simple directive from the POTUS or something tied to the UN?  Sounds more like a police action.  But it's fun to see the media and leftist reactions, or lack thereof, when Obama plays the oil games.   Or when any story comes up remotely in the vicinity of Benghazi.