Hello wolvies-ga,
I think that the following article responds to your question (and
clarifying questions). While Mr. Dean is a columnist, and expresses a
particular point of view, I think that you will find that his
description of the history of war powers is quite authoritative.
"Pursuant to the Constitution, and Despite Claims to the Contrary,
President Bush Needs Congressional Approval Before Declaring War on
Iraq", by John W. Dean (Aug. 30, 2002)
FindLaw
http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20020830.html
I should note that the article's title is somewhat misleading;
Congress has the power to declare war, but in practice the President
can start a war, and continue it at least to some extent. While I
would recommend reading the entire article, here is a brief summary
with respect to the questions you have asked:
Congress has declared war five times -- England in 1812, Mexico in
1846, Spain in 1898, World War I, and World War II -- all at the
request of the President. President Truman declined to seek a
declaration of war in the Korean conflict, after the Secretary of
State explained that Presidents had sent American forces into combat
87 times without Congressional approval. However, some members of
Congress challenged Truman, leading to a compromise whereby Congress
would provide some troops, but no more troops without Congressional
approval. In 1973, Congress adopted the War Powers Resolution,
providing that the President can start a war if he advises Congress,
but that the President must stop the war if Congress does not declare
war or authorize the use of the military within 60 days. Later
Presidents have largely ignored the War Powers Resolution. However,
Congress still has the ability to control the President by refusing to
authorize further appropriations for war.
Of course, this article was written before Congress gave its
conditional approval to President Bush with respect to a possible war
in Iraq. Thus, you would want to consult that resolution as well when
considering the current situation.
I hope that this information is helpful.
- justaskscott-ga
Search strategy:
I had read this article when it appeared; I browsed FindLaw to find
the article. |
Request for Answer Clarification by
wolvies-ga
on
12 Feb 2003 11:46 PST
Thank you - excellent answer. If you could provide clarification for a
couple of points, it won't go unrenumerated
1. The 87 previous occasions mentioned to Truman - did these include
Wilson's sending of troops around the Caribbean and Central America,
and indeed into Mexico ?
2. The 1973 Act, why did it happen ? Was there an imperative, or was
it intended to get round a difficult Congress ?
Thanks in advance !
Wolvies, lol
|
Clarification of Answer by
justaskscott-ga
on
14 Feb 2003 08:15 PST
1. The 87 previous occasions mentioned to Truman did include Wilson's
sending of troops around the Caribbean and into Mexico, as shown in
the initial memorandum to Truman as well as in a recently updated
list. (The Central American forays seem to have occurred primarily
under Taft, not Wilson.)
"Authority of the President to Repel the Attack in Korea (Department
of State Memorandum of July 3, 1950)"
Professor James M. Lindsay, Department of Political Science, College
of Liberal Arts, University of Iowa
http://www.uiowa.edu/~c030162/Common/Handouts/War/KoreanWar.htm
"Instances of Use of United States Armed Forces
Abroad, 1798-1999", by Richard F. Grimmett (Updated May 17, 1999)
Congressional Research Service [CRS] Reports: Military and National
Security
Federation of American Scientists
http://www.fas.org/man/crs/RL30172.pdf
2. The most in-depth analysis that I have seen about the enactment of
the War Powers Resolution concludes that "it was as much an indictment
of President Nixon as it was the Vietnam war or the war-making powers
themselves." In any event, it appears that the weakening of the
President as well as frustration over the Vietnam War and Congress's
powers all contributed to the passage of the resolution and the
overriding of Nixon's veto. (Other, less analytical pages -- which I
have not cited since they are not very authoritative -- likewise
suggest that these factors played a role.)
"The War Powers Resolution: Intent Implementation and Impact", by
Colonel Kevin J. McHale, U.S. Marine Corps (1993)
The Industrial College of the Armed Forces
National Defense University
http://www.ndu.edu/library/ic6/93A38.pdf
Search terms used on Google:
"woodrow wilson" "into mexico"
haiti "dominican republic" mexico "war powers"
"war powers resolution"
"war powers resolution" "gulf of tonkin resolution"
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