The War Power
The thing about abuse is you get used to it. Eventually, it becomes normal – having been normalized. For instance, this business of the president starting wars. Just deciding it’s time to lob bombs on other countries.
This is not the president’s constitutional prerogative, which is the relevant point. Not whether the country on the receiving end of the bombs – and sometimes, troops – perhaps deserves to have bombs lobbed on it or American troops sent to it. Those are considerations used to manipulate public support, especially when it is lacking in Congress – which is supposed to have the power to declare war.
Well, the work-around – used by American presidents since at least the time of FDR – is to just wage it without actually declaring it.
FDR waged war against both Germany and Japan years before the war (the second one) was declared. German ships – including the battleship Bismarck, for those interested in an interesting bit of history – were shadowed by American ships and their location transmitted to the British, who were at war with Germany. In some cases, German sips (subs) were even fired upon by American ships in neutral Atlantic waters. American pilots flew British airplanes in the European war zone before America was formally at war with Germany. And as most people know, America – that is, FDR – provided Britain with destroyers and other war materiel which coud be construed as an act of war against Germany.
Similarly as regards Japan.
Now – mind – it isn’t the issue at hand whether the National Socialist (always important to spell it out) regime that ruled Germany or Imperial Japan were baddies. What’s relevant – in terms of the document that is technically the law of this land – is that Congress (and Congress alone) has lawful authority to start wars. The implicit corollary of this being that any act of war engaged unilaterally by the president is illegal and even treasonous.
But presidents have gotten way with starting wars for generations, from FDR to the present one. The Korean War was never declared – by Congress. Nor the Vietnam War. Nor the War on Trrrrrr declared by The Chimp. The war the latter began in Afghanistan lasted almost 20 years. Now America is at war with Yemen – and perhaps soon Iran – because President Trump so decided. Once again, it is important to return to the point that it is beside the point whether going to war with Yemen – and potentially, Iran – is a good or a terrible idea. The point at hand is whether our having gotten used to the president – whoever that may be – starting and waging wars on his own say-so is a good or terrible idea.
The old powdered wig wearers who wrote the “goddamn piece of paper,” as The Chimp is said to have referred to it – thought it was a terrible idea to empower the president to start wars because that is a terrible power to allow any one person to possess. Their idea was to empower a body of the people’s representatives – Congress – to declare war when necessary, which they imposed a majority assent requirement upon. This being a pretty high bar for declaring war, which seems like a very good idea, given that war is serious business that can become existential business. If two-thirds of a large body of the people’s representatives agree that there is justification for war sufficient to declare it, then they will declare it. But what does it tell us when the president decides to ignore the Constitution and engages in war without a declaration from Congress?
Obviously, it suggests there isn’t sufficient – majority – public support for the war. Which strongly suggests the war isn’t necessary, as regards the people of this country.
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