Essay Sample on Controversial War Powers: US Executive & Legislative Branches

Introduction

The use of the military is one of the most controversial issues in the United States of America. The constitution divides the war powers between the executive and the legislative arms of government. The war powers in the executive branch are vested on the President, who is the commander in chief of the Armed forces. On the other hand, Congress has the power to make declarations of war or raise and provide support to the armed forces. But the constitutional provision on war powers, especially in regards to the President, raised some questions and was subject to a lot of misinterpretation. Some questions arose over the President's authority or ability to deploy U.S forces into hostile territory without the approval of Congress or a war declaration. It is that blurry line that caused the introduction of War Powers Resolution, which sought to address such concerns and provide a set of procedures that Congress and the President could follow in such situations.

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In the writing of the constitution, the founding fathers were clearly in search of breaking the British tradition of investing all war powers with the executive, which was represented by the King. However, the framers were also aware that Congress could lack the rapid response needed to respond to immediate threats. As a result, instead of granting Congress all the powers to make war as was initially proposed, the terminologies were changed to "declare war" (Roos, 2020). According to James Madison, the executive is the branch of government that is most interested and prone to war. The change of wording in Article I, Section 8 of the constitution meant that the President still had the powers to make war, if not declare it. Therefore, the common understanding during the early days of the United States was that the President could use military force to defend the country against an attack. Still, any sustained military action would require congressional approval.

Despite the constitutional provisions on the use of military power by the President, the real and theoretical limits to the President's power to use military force remain unclear. Even the most recent President, Donald Trump Jr, has attracted controversy regarding his use of military force in foreign conflicts. Trump's use of military force in Syria is one of those controversial topics. In 2018, Trump ordered airstrikes against what was termed as chemical production facilities in Syria. That move is termed as controversial because Congress did not approve it; neither was it in response to an imminent threat to United States citizens. Furthermore, it was not given the green light despite the participation of both France and the United Kingdom (Desjardins, 2018).

Even the constitution has conflicting guidelines on the President's use of a military force. Article I of the Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war and raise support for the armies. However, that provision is quickly conflicted by Article II of the constitution, which states that the President shall be the commander in chief of the armed forces. Despite the United States being locked in a perpetual cycle of wars, the country has only participated in eleven officially declared wars (Official Declarations of War by Congress, 2019). Official Declarations of War by Congress (2019), these official declarations include; the declaration of war with Great Britain in 1812, the declaration of war with Mexico 1846, the declaration of war with Spain 1898, the declarations of war first world war, and the declarations of second world war (Official Declarations of War by Congress, 2019). From the Official Declarations of War by Congress (2019), it can be seen that the last official war declaration was in the Second World War against Rumania. However, since then, the U.S forces have engaged in numerous conflicts around the world without an official declaration or congressional approval.

The first issue that needs to be addressed concerning war powers was the definition of war. According to Mariah Zeisberg, the history of war powers is full of disputes between different branches about the definition of war and what is meant by a congressional authority over war (Roos, 2020). Such a lack of consensus on the issue has caused the united states to enter into controversial conflicts. U.S history is full of presidents who used military force without a declaration of war or congressional approval. President Obama is ordered some targeted military strikes in Libya, Syria, and even Pakistan without the approval of Congress. President George W. Bush's use of military force in Iraq and Afghanistan lacked the war declaration despite the congressional approval of the use of military force in those regions. President Bill Clinton used military force in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Iraq, Haiti, Kosovo, and Sudan, without the approval of Congress.

The cases above show just how common the use of military force without war declaration or congressional approval is. The war powers resolution contains several unique sections. One of the sections is the policies behind the law. Constitutionally, the judgments of both the President and Congress are supposed to apply when it comes to the introduction of United States Armed forces into armed conflicts. The authority of the President as the commander in chief of the armed forces can only be exercised following a declaration of war, specific statutory authorization by Congress, or a national emergency as a result of an attack on the United States (War and National Defense, 2006).

As for the second section, the President would need to consult Congress before involving the U.S armed forces in situations where they are likely to encounter hostilities. The President would need to continue with such consultations for as long as the U.S armed forces are in a hostile situation (War and National Defense, 2006). The third section contains the reporting requirements for the President to comply with when introducing the armed forces to armed conflict. The third section is also relevant because it has the potential to trigger the 60-day limit on the use of United States forces (War and National Defense, 2006).

The United States president has a history of taking the position that the resolution is an unconstitutional infringement on the executive branch. That has caused the resolution to attract a lot of controversies since it was first enacted. Furthermore, the U.S Armed Forces' continuous commitment to worldwide conflicts has caused the controversy surrounding the War Resolution to be a recurring issue. Evidence of the dispute can be found in the over 120 reports submitted to Congress pursuant to the resolution. In recent years, President George W. Bush was granted authorization by Congress to use military force in Iraq, pursuant to the War Powers Resolution (Congress, 2002). Ultimately, the war resolution managed to place limits on presidential powers to use American troops in armed conflict. However, there are some instances when the President has decided to ignore these resolutions, with little consequences.

Conclusion

There is no lack of legislation when it comes to the use of military force by the President. The main problem is that Congress has not agreed on the way to respond to a president's violation of these laws. Politics still has a hand, and as long as the President enjoys some level of support within Congress, he or she is unlikely to face serious consequences for such actions. Also, there is no standard feature for war, and that means no two wars can be completely similar. The nature of war is continuously changing, and that makes it hard for the constitution to define what qualifies as war and what doesn't. It is impossible to vest all war powers within a single branch of government, and as long as those powers are divided, discrepancies will always exist.

References

Congress, U. S. (2002). Authorization for the Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002. Public Law, 107-243.

Desjardins, L. (2018, April 17). When can a president use military force? The answer is complicated. Retrieved January 30, 2020, from https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/when-can-a-president-use-military-force-the-answer-is-complicated

Official Declarations of War by Congress. (2019, April 10). Retrieved January 30, 2020, from https://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/history/h_multi_sections_and_teasers/WarDeclarationsbyCongress.htm

Roos, D. (2020, January 15). U.S. Presidents and Congress Have Long Clashed Over War Powers. Retrieved January 29, 2020, from https://www.history.com/news/us-presidents-war-powers-congress