Weakening America's War Making Ablity...

polifrog



Not since WW2 has congress declared war, however wars have been fought. Wars are now initiated under a single individual, the president. This weakens America's ability to make war.

Wars have become tied to the presidents under which they are initiated and more generally to the party of the president in power. It becomes "Bush's war" or "Obama's war" and more generally a democrat war or republican war. From the outset the roots of division are sown.

Kuwait (First war with Iraq) and the Iraq War (under Bush 2) - The left argued against these wars while the right supported them. Contrast this with Bosnia under Clinton, Libya under Obama in which the right took the mantle of arguing against the war while the left did not.

War has become a hammer in the hands of the opposition with which to beat the administration the administration in power. Witness conservatives beating Obama over a war that couldn't (in the real world) be more similar to Bush's. Bush was attacked for implementing the Bush Doctrine by democrats and now Obama is being attacked for implementing the Bush Doctrine by conservatives.

This dynamic would be reduced if wars were properly initiated through congress as the decision would be closer to "the people" hence increasing the legitimacy of the war in question and negating to some extent the Rep/Dem patina imparted to the missions.

This dynamic, this congressional abdication of power to the executive, reduces our nation's war making ability.

However it appears that the executive too is attempting to abdicate its war making authority ... to the UN.


It should be noted that Obama's approach to prosecuting the war in Libya not only side stepped congress entirely, but his approach has laid the precedent for sourcing legitimacy for conducting a US war through the UN. Obama has effectively derived legitimacy for the war in Libya through the UN rather than congress. This approach, if left unchecked, leaves the use of American military force under the influence of an inter-governmental organization who's interests are often not aligned with America's further weakening America's war making ability.


It is sad to see our spineless congress with whom Constitutional authority to declare war resides allow the weakening of American might.

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