War Powers Issue
The war in the Persian Gulf, once
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The first war in the Persian Gulf, once begun, won the overwhelming support of the American people, first because of the tendency of the public to "rally around the flag" and the Commander in Chief during a crisis, and second because the war itself went extraordinarily well. A methodical air campaign was followed by a swift and decisive ground campaign, with American war dead limited to about one hundred. Victory is its own best spin control. But in the aftermath of that victory, it is worth remembering that the decision to go to war was intensely controversial, with the American public deeply divided up to the very point that the action began. It is even more important to note that the beginning of the Persian Gulf War, had it gone slightly differently, might have triggered a Constitutional crisis. As it was, the decision to go to war, and the way it was determined, raised and gave an unexpected answer to a fundamental question of Constitutional government: the nature of the "war power." In recent decades, this question has been one of the most contentious, sensitive, and complex issues in modern American policy, politics, and law. The Constitution reserves to Congress, and to Congress alone, the power to declare war. The Constitution also, however, empowers the President to act as Commander in Chief of U.S. armed forces. As such, he clearly has the authority to direct war policy once war is declared. He also has the peaceti
. . .
A President without the power to make the swift
decisions he made on Korea could not protect the
United States in a world of jet aircraft and
surprise attacks.25
A frequent theme of modern discussions of the war power question is that of the swiftness of modern war or threat; in the words of political scientist Richard Neustadt in 1963, "technology has modified the Constitution."26
Actually, it is not so clear that "technology" has rendered this change. Certainly war can erupt far more swiftly in modern times than could have been imagined in the eighteenth century. But at the same time, a President's ability to notify and seek authorization from Congress has been likewise accelerated. The framers, as we have seen, already had a real concern about ________
23Richard S. Kirkendall, Harry S Truman, Korea and the Imperial Presidency (St. Charles, Missouri: Forum Press, 1975), 4 5.
24Ibid., 7ff.
25Ibid., 28.
26Robinson, 226.
"sudden attacks" to which the President might have to respond without being able to call on Congress. Today, a President can inform Congressional leaders in minutes, and call for an emergency vote in a matter of a few hours.
Admitted
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Approximate Word count = 8407
Approximate Pages = 34 (250 words per page)
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