Article I of the Constitution gives Congress the authority to declare war, among other war powers, reflecting the fundamental principle that the representatives of the people should have a say in whether to commit our troops and our nation’s resources to war. Tough decisions about committing American lives and treasure should be subject to public debate and congressional oversight, as the founders intended when they gave Congress the power to declare war, the power to raise and regulate armies and navies, and the power of the purse.Īs President, I will fully engage Congress in decisions to send our men and women to war. We cannot be casual or careless about the possibility of military action, as the current administration has been. ![]() But as a veteran of America’s longest war, I know how important it is to establish a high and clear bar for the use of military force. We should be prepared to use it as circumstances dictate to defend the homeland and prevent attacks on American soil, American interests, or the American people. When you’ve deployed, you understand we have a military force for a reason. In all other circumstances, my administration would seek congressional authorization before ordering a military attack. Even then, those actions must be limited in scope and duration. Only in extremely limited circumstances-instances in which intelligence agencies indicate the action would serve important national interests and where the action is in anticipatory self-defense in the face of imminent threats-does the Constitution permit a president to order an attack on another country without prior congressional authorization. It also reflects a basic democratic principle: the elected representatives of the people should have a say before we use force overseas, put our troops at risk, and spend taxpayer money on expensive wars. ![]() This is meant to balance the President’s authority as Commander in Chief and divide national security-related authorities between branches of government. The Question Do you agree with the O.L.C.’s reasoning? Under what circumstances other than a literally imminent threat to the United States, if any, does the Constitution permit a president to order an attack on another country without prior Congressional authorization? What about bombing Iranian or North Korean nuclear facilities?Īs part of our system of checks and balances, the Constitution assigns to Congress the power to declare war and to support the military. In recent years, the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel has claimed that the Constitution authorizes the president, as commander in chief, to order the military to attack other countries without congressional permission if the president determines that this would be anticipatory self-defense or otherwise serve the interests of the United States - at least where the nature, scope and duration of the anticipated hostilities are “limited,” like airstrikes against Libyan government forces in 2011 and Syrian government forces in 20. Presidential War Powers Ordering military attacks without Congress Next: Military Force Against Americans The Context
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