In his speech last week on the Islamic State, President Obama claimed that he already has the authority to wage war against the newly formed terrorist nation. Nevertheless, he would welcome “congressional support for this effort in order to show the world that Americans are united in confronting this danger.”
This comment displays an inadequate respect for the limitations of presidential power. Obama should feel duty-bound to seek authority from Congress for a war, and Congress should grant him that authority when he asks.
This isn’t about the pedantic debate over precisely what constitutes a “declaration of war.” Rather, it is about the Constitution’s requirement that Congress, not the executive, make all affirmative decisions about going to war.
The U.S. Constitution grants Congress the power to choose war and grants the president power to wage it as commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The framers were very explicit about their reasons for this separation of war powers. James Madison once referred to it as the wisest part of the entire document.
Alexander Hamilton cited it in The Federalist No. 69 to allay public fears of an excessively powerful executive. He wrote that the president’s power as “commander-in-chief” would be “much inferior” to that of the British king. “It would amount to nothing more than the supreme command and direction of the military and naval forces, as first General and admiral of the Confederacy; while that of the British king extends to the DECLARING of war and to the RAISING and REGULATING of fleets and armies, all which, by the Constitution under consideration, would appertain to the legislature.”
At the end of American involvement in Vietnam, Congress tried to salvage its constitutional prerogative by passing the War Powers Resolution over President Richard Nixon’s veto. Contrary to the opinions of many, this measure permits presidents to wage war only under three conditions: When Congress has declared war; when Congress has authorized war by statute; and when the United States is physically invaded. The 60-day grace period mentioned in the law is a remedy for when things go wrong, not a justification for presidents to start wars on their own and then dare Congress to end them.
The WPR begins with this statement of purpose: “[T]o fulfill the intent of the framers of the Constitution of the United States and insure that the collective judgment of both the Congress and the President will apply to the introduction of United States Armed Forces into hostilities[.]” As both the framers and the authors of that resolution understood, wars chosen on just one man’s say-so run a greater risk of being chosen poorly.
War is the most serious matter a nation can undertake. If Obama believes this, as he has indicated, he must seek congressional approval for this war.
Congress should also be ready grant its approval on the merits.
