The Constitution of the United States makes the President the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, but gives Congress the power to create, organize, and finance the armed forces, as well as the sole power to declare war. Congress should reassert its own power over the armed forces and their use, while limiting the President to waging war within congressionally imposed limits. Otherwise, the United States is more likely to suffer from dictatorship or a president’s bad judgment.
Since the announcement of the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the United States and the Iranian government, there’s been a rising chorus of critics who’ve said that America has surrendered to, or been defeated by, the Iranian government. After all, despite President Trump’s assertion that one of the goals of the war he launched on 2/28 was regime removal, the regime is still in power. And although Iran’s nuclear facilities were allegedly “obliterated” last year, it retains its store of uranium with which to make nuclear bombs. True, our armed forces significantly degraded Iran’s military facilities, weapons, and capabilities. But the $5 billion a month which may soon flow to Iran’s coffers when the sanctions against oil sales are lifted, will help supply reconstruction funds, possibly to be augmented by the release of frozen assets (of at least $25 billion) and the prospective creation of a $300 billion reconstruction fund. What will be constructed?
In all fairness, we won’t know the extent of Iran’s gains for some months, since both sides have pledged themselves to serious talks over the next 60 days. So condemnation of the terms agreed to by President Trump may prove to be premature. Nevertheless, the conduct of the war and its outcome to date should encourage a return to the first principles of war making annunciated in our Constitution.
Our Constitution makes the President the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. But as noted in the introduction, it assigns to the Congress, through the legislative process, the power to create, organize, and finance the armed forces, as well as the sole power to declare war.
One reason to restore congressional war powers is to avoid a presidential or military dictatorship. James Madison, the chief architect and intellectual godfather of the Constitution, wrote that wars can beget dictatorships: The means of defence [sic] agains foreign danger have been always the instruments of tyranny at home. Among the Romans it was a standing maxim to excite a war, whenever a revolt was apprehended. Throughout all Europe, the armies kept up under the pretext of defending, have enslaved the people,” and that “If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy.” Moreover, “The Executive is the branch of power most interested in war, and most prone to it.” So our Constitution was written to advance the principle that “The power to declare war, including the power of judging the causes of war, is fully and exclusively vested in the legislature.”
But another reason to restore a greater congressional role in war making is to minimize the damage that may be done of all war making power is concentrated in the hands of one person. It’s perfectly true that the law—especially the 1973 War Powers Act—allows the President to order our troops into combat before getting congressional approval. And when President Trump did so on 2/28, he was acting in accordance with both the law and the precedents set by his predecessors, Republican and Democratic alike. Moreover, without a deep dive congressional investigation of how President Trump decided to go to war, we are not yet justified in condemning his decisions. And we’re unlikely to see a fair-minded congressional investigation anytime soon: Most of the Republicans in Congress are too supine and afraid of Trump to conduct any sort of objective investigation, and most of the Democrats will oppose or otherwise find fault with anything Trump says or does anyway. The truth may well be out there, but the Congress, as currently constituted, is probably unable to discern it, much less report it.
Nonetheless, better decision making is more likely to be achieved if proposals to wage war are first thoroughly analyzed and debated in Congress or, if secrecy must be preserved, then at least among both Democratic and Republican Party leaders with appropriate security clearances. The only circumstance under which the President should be able to act alone is if a foreign enemy launches a sneak attack. In that case, the President would have both the right and the responsibility to order the armed forces to fight back to repel the attack. But even then, once the original danger is neutralized, Congress should then decide what additional measures should be taken. No war declaration was needed for American forces to fight back against the Japanese forces attacking Pearl Harbor. But President Roosevelt was right to secure congressional approval before taking any additional steps to retaliate against Japan or attack its allies.
Restoring to Congress its constitutionally defined war making powers will not automatically guarantee better decisions. At best, requiring more debate rather than passively accepting the say-so of the President, whoever he or she may be, will reduce, but not necessarily eliminate, the possibility of bad decisions. But reducing the risks of more authoritarianism or decisions based on the bad judgments of a single person should justify restoration of the balance between the President and the Congress as designed by James Madison and the framers of our national Constitution.
Malcolm L. Cross has lived in Stephenville since 1987 and taught politics and government at Tarleton for 36 years, retiring in 2023. His political and civic activities include service on the Stephenville City Council (2000-2014) and on the Erath County Republican Executive Committee (1990-2024). He was Mayor pro-tem of Stephenville from 2008 to 2014. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Stephenville Economic Development Authority since 2018, and as chair of the Erath County Appraisal District’s Appraisal Review Board since 2015. He is also a member of the Stephenville Rotary Club, the Board of Vestry of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, and the Executive Committee of the Boy Scouts’ Pecan Valley District. Views expressed in this column are his and do not reflect those of The Flash as a whole.
Be the first to comment