Were War Opponents Wrong?
The War Party is pointing, laughing, and gloating… ridiculing skeptics of Iran attacks for being wrong, as if warning against war isn’t prudent.
Its proponents want to embed the notion that it’s more reckless to doubt armed intervention than to promote it, and that minding our own business is a greater danger than butting into everyone else’s.
But the burden of proof is always on those who urge war. That’s why the framers of the Constitution demanded such consequential action be debated in Congress, and be undertaken only after that body declares war.
Semantic Somersaults
Regardless its tactical merits, the attack on Iran lacked such sanction and was therefore illegal. The president has no Constitutional authority to start a war. That’s why some “conservative” influencers resort to semantic somersaults that would make Bill Clinton blush:
How is this different from “I. Did. Not. Have. Sex. With. That. Woman?” I suppose that depends on what your definition of “is” is.
Article II, Section 2 states the President “shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States.”
Only Congress can call the military into “actual service of the United States” – by declaring war… which Congress hasn’t done since WWII.
The armed forces are not the president’s personal plaything. He can’t commit them to airstrikes, invasion, attack, or battle without Congress calling them to service by declaring war. The Constitution wasn’t written in hieroglyphics or Morse Code. This isn’t complicated.
There are no exceptions for “emergencies” (a word not found in the Constitution) or extraordinary circumstances. The War Powers Resolution of 1973 didn’t override this requirement. That wasn’t a constitutional amendment, and doesn’t supersede the original document.
If anything, it was a feeble (and unconstitutional) attempt to restrain rogue presidents by requiring them to inform Congress before initiating hostilities
Article from LewRockwell
LewRockwell.com is a libertarian website that publishes articles, essays, and blog posts advocating for minimal government, free markets, and individual liberty. The site was founded by Lew Rockwell, an American libertarian political commentator, activist, and former congressional staffer. The website often features content that is critical of mainstream politics, state intervention, and foreign policy, among other topics. It is a platform frequently used to disseminate Austrian economics, a school of economic thought that is popular among some libertarians.
