We have been discussing the growing concerns over President Barack Obama’s series of unilateral actions in ordering agencies not to enforce law, effectively rewriting laws, and moving hundreds of millions of dollars from appropriated purposes to areas of his choosing. One of the greatest concerns has been his unchecked authority asserted in the national security area. I previously represented members of Congress in challenging Obama’s intervention in the Libyan civil war without a declaration from Congress. In the case, President Obama insisted that he alone determines what is a war and therefore when he needs a declaration. Since the court would not recognize standing to challenge the war, it left Obama free to engage in war operations in any country of his choosing. As with his approach in Libya, Syria and other combat operations, President Obama declared this week that he does not need any approval or even consultation with Congress if he decides to commit us again to war again in Iraq.
As in the past, Democrats are not just silent but actually applauding the circumvention of Congress — a precedent that will likely come back to haunt them if the next president is a Republican. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California said that the President does not need congressional approval to do go back into combat and then matter-of-factly that in their brief conversation, the President “did not give us an array of actions he was planning to take.”
While we do not expect combat troops on the ground, the White House appears to be exploring an intervention with air power and possible special forces. The White House simply told Congress and the public to trust their uber president: “Any action that he might contemplate when it comes to … the use of military force will be to deal with the immediate and medium-term threat posed by ISIL.”
I recently testified (here and here and here) and wrote a column on President Obama’s increasing circumvention of Congress in negating or suspending U.S. laws. Obama has repeatedly suspended provisions of the health care law and made unilateral changes that were previously rejected by Congress. He has also moved hundreds of millions from one part of the Act to other parts without congressional approval. Now, his administration is reportedly changing key provisions of the ACA to potentially make billions of dollars available to the insurance industry in a move that was never debated, let alone approved, by the legislative branch. I just ran another column this month listing such incidents of executive over-reach that ideally would have included this potentially huge commitment under Obama’s claimed discretionary authority.
This week I debated the head of the Brennan Center at New York University on Obama’s unilateral actions and the dangers that they pose on the PBS program Newshour. While my co-guest repeatedly insisted that he is “not troubled” by the concentration of authority in the presidency, I again believe that Democrats will long regret that they support the rise of this uber presidency:
TheSaucyMugwump (@TheSaucyMugwump)
@Hohn
From the WSJ: “The weapons stockpiled at the Al Muthanna complex are old,
‘W’ was wrong and you always see what you want to see.
Bush was compelled by 9/11 which was allowed to happen. Hussein MAY have obtained WMD in the last 12 years if he hadn’t been eliminated. Hussein had the intent.
I wonder what Americans thought when they stole land from Palestine (i.e. Arabs) and established the state of Israel. What did they think were going to be the long term effects. America should have “avoided foreign entanglements.”
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“Nick wrote “The Administration has now used the Patent Office to try and force PC on the Washington Redskins”
You and I disagree here. I suspect you would not appreciate the team being named the Washington Wops. The team can easily be renamed to Warriors.”
THIS IS OBAMA’S MULTICULTURALISM.
Get rid of your culture and put mine in place.
Abuse the power of the office and dictate on a whim.
“The Redskins” has been a term of endearment since 1932.
Fans LOVE The Redskins.”
“The Redskins” have been a source of honor and distinction for Indians.
How would you like a pro football team named after you; something like the “Hot Saucies?” Whatever. You get my point. You’d be on national television. You might even open a lucrative casino or two. Who knows how you could capitalize on the fame.
Holy geez! Obama’s an African-America and you’re a “white.”
Multiculturalism. Out with the old culture, in with the new culture.
This has to be the easiest conquest of a nation in history. They thought Cortez, with 400 troops, conquering the Aztecs was monumental.
Has anyone seen a sleeping giant anywhere?
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Hail to the Redskins!
Hail Victory!
Braves on the Warpath!
Fight for old D.C.!
Run or pass and score — we want a lot more!
Beat ’em, Swamp ’em,
Touchdown! — Let the points soar!
Fight on, fight on ‘Til you have won
Sons of Wash-ing-ton. Rah!, Rah!, Rah!
Hail to the Redskins!
Hail Victory!
Braves on the Warpath!
Fight for old D.C.!
The previous lyrics (1962 to ’80s) were:
Hail to the Redskins!
Hail, victory!
Braves on the warpath!
Fight for Old D.C.!
Scalp ’em, swamp ‘um
We will take ‘um big score
Read ‘um, Weep ‘um, touchdown
We want heap more
Fight on, fight on, till you have won
Sons of Washington
Rah! Rah! Rah!
Kraaken: “Sorry, Eric. Iraq is a sovereign nation. We have no right to tell them how to run their country…”
This should help explain it. The foundational legal documents for the 1991-2003 Iraq enforcement mission were P.L. 102-1 (1991), P.L. 107-243 (2002), UNSC Res 678 (1990), UNSC Res 687 (1991), UNSC Res 688 (1991), and UNSC Res 1441 (2002). The greater body of UNSC resolutions informing and US statutes enforcing Saddam’s ceasefire obligations operated on that platform. For the post-war occupation, begin with UNSC Res 1483 (2003) and UNSC 1511 (2003).
Max-1,
We were at war with Iraq from 1991-2003, with most of that period in a suspended state of war, ie, the ceasefire (UNSC Res 687) conditioned on Iraq fulfilling a set of obligations. Since we toppled Saddam’s regime in 2003, we have not been at war against Iraq as such, although the transitional post-war occupation with peace operations between 2003-2011 was technically a stage of war.
This should help explain our mission in Iraq after the regime change in 2003. Excerpt from UNSC Res 1511 (2003):
Nick: Right. Once Goldwater gave up on ever becoming president, he set about asserting the constitutional power of the Congress. Bob Woodward reported inVeil how Goldwater called Reagan up at 2 in the moring to cuss him out over the diverted funds to the Contras; “Damn it! This is the law!”
RTC that’s a great point about all Senators dreaming of being President as a reason they don’t “Man up,” as girly man John Kerry would say.
Kraaken: It doesn’t matter what the topic of the post is, John always rants about the IRS and Lois Lerner.
I don’t know about anybody else, but I consider those insurgents to be sub-contractors for Big Oil and Haliburton.
The Consumer Price index was reported as down recently because of low gas prices, plus it’s driving season. Anyone surprised that’s there trouble in the Middle East?
We’re being gamed.
RTC – read about Operation Viking Hammer and you will understand the underpinning for ISIS/ISIL.
DavidM: You are completely wrong about the Obama not being a leader. We are discussing here how he has usurped the power of Congress in taking over leadership of when, where, and how we wage military aggression.
The fact that he has taken the Imperial Presidency to new heights implies leadership.
RTC wrote: “The fact that he has taken the Imperial Presidency to new heights implies leadership.”
No it doesn’t. A tyrant is an example of a bad leader.
Eric: “The test was Iraq’s compliance, not US intel. The cause of action for Operation Iraqi Freedom – same as for Clinton’s military enforcement with Iraq – was whether Saddam was in full compliance or material breach of Iraq’s ceasefire obligations under the UNSC resolutions.
Setting aside Saddam’s noncompliance on Iraq’s non-weapons obligations, such as UNSC Res 688, Saddam’s noncompliance on Iraq’s weapons obligations was established fact reconfirmed by UNMOVIC.
The Duelfer Report also corroborated that Iraq was in broad violation of the UNSC resolutions.
Sorry, Eric. Iraq is a sovereign nation. We have no right to tell them how to run their country especially since we can’t even run our own. IF, and is still a big IF, there were any WMDs, they were there because Bush Senior sold them to Iraq. If you were a country like Iraq and had neighbors like Israel with nuclear weapons, I would think you would have the right to protect yourself. Because of the havoc that we have brought to Iraq and it’s people, we have managed to squander any good will engendered from the 9/11 attacks. Indeed, we have lost any claim to any sort of moral compass. We used 9/11 as an excuse to rape a country who just happened to have oil. However, you can’t use 9/11 as an excuse. 17 out of 19 of the hijackers were Saudi Arabian. Perhaps we should have hit Saudi Arabia? At least that would have been a more honest position to have taken. .
John:: “. The real question for the ineligible president is does he have the power to abuse power at the IRS and destroy evidence such as Lois Lerner’s, et. al., e-mail?”
John, this blog post is about Obama and Iraq. Not the IRS or Lois Lerner.
David2575: “Kraaken, the dysfunctional Congress is President Obama’s doing.”
Really, David? I seem to remember Mitch McConnel’s statement on the night of the first election: “Our job is to see that Obama is a one term President.” That was the night of the election. Two months before Obama took office. Doesn’t sound like a very cooperative congress to ME.
Kraaken wrote: “I seem to remember Mitch McConnel’s statement on the night of the first election: “Our job is to see that Obama is a one term President.” ”
You may want to reconsider your facts. There is some falsehood in what you said. Mitch McConnell did not say that on the night of the first election, and there also is a context to what he said. In that context, he said that if Obama would meet them halfway on the biggest issues, it’s not inappropriate for them to do business with him. He also said, “I don’t want the president to fail; I want him to change.” Consider the following analysis:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/when-did-mcconnell-say-he-wanted-to-make-obama-a-one-term-president/2012/09/24/79fd5cd8-0696-11e2-afff-d6c7f20a83bf_blog.html
There is no doubt that there were several members of Congress who saw the writing on the wall and what he would do to this country. But these were only a handful of men, not the entire Congress. President Obama had the opportunity to meet with them, including Mitch McConnell, and bring them onboard with his plan. The problem is that President Obama has not really had a plan to do any of this. He surrounded himself with left wing sycophants rather than people who would help him understand the way conservatives reason on issues. A good leader would surround himself with advisers from the entire political spectrum.
Bob Esq.: I agree with Mike A. This is both sad and tragic. Where is Barry Goldwater when you need him.
As long as every Senator sees himself as a potential president, none of them will assert the power of Congress.
Jimmy22: “Annie, other than Saddam being a mass murderer, why else would we car about Iraq?”
Have you ever heard of this stuff called “petroleum”?
There’s lots of it situated in the Middle East.
Many of us here in America use this “petroleum” to power our “automobiles”.
We commonly purchase it at “filling stations” or “gas stations”.
The price we pay for “petroleum” at “filling stations” is often affected by events in the Middle East.
This message brought to you in the interest of REALITY.
BTW: Saddam Hussein is dead. He was a mass murderer. I doubt he had time to update his resume.
Annie – and what light would that be?
Saucy, You’re correct. Most people do indeed care what they are called. I realize I’m VERY UNIQUE. Now, If someone calls me a slur, and it’s someone I don’t know, they’ll get it back w/ both barrels. But, I’m not going to file a lawsuit or whine about it. Just take care of it right there, and then just let it go. Life’s too short to sweat small stuff. But Saucy, I realize I’m a distinct minority on this. Prior to your getting here, we have had some heated discussions on this. I grew up in an ethnic, blue collar town. Racial and ethnic slurs were out in the open, said to people’s faces. We had a much more real and civil dialogue than this walking on eggshells, victimhood, phony, PC culture. You are a great addition here, Saucy. You discuss w/ wisdom, humor and respect. Since you use “grammar school” I believe you are from the East Coast. Where, if you care to share? I understand if you don’t.
Nick – you are a slur and you are unique but not very unique. You cannot possibly be very unique. A thing is either unique or it is not. You could be almost unique, but not very unique.
Paul, Lighten Up Pills are on sale @ Walgreens this week.
Nick – checked with my local Walgreens and they are not selling them. Will you pick me up some and ship?
Eric
Would you agree that if China came after our coal and did the same thing you suggest, martial law, that it too, should not be seen as a direct threat upon the people AND their nation… er… HOMELAND?
Eric
President Bush did what was needed to get us to the next inflection point of the peace operations with Iraq. It was commonly understood at the time that a new “peacetime” SOFA would be negotiated.
Think of it like emergency martial law that has a designed expiration. I
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Um, some people would argue that we’ve never been “AT WAR” with Iraq.
A nation is often defined by the people and THEIR government so, whom would that martial law affect and how is it not an act of direct occupation through military intervention and LAW imposed upon a people by that occupying force?
And we’re not at war with Iraq?
Here are the lyrics:
Pearl Harbor Speech December 8 1941
To the Congress of the United States
Yesterday, Dec. 7, 1941 – a date which will live in infamy – the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.
The United States was at peace with that nation and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with the government and its emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific.
Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in Oahu, the Japanese ambassador to the United States and his colleagues delivered to the Secretary of State a formal reply to a recent American message. While this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or armed attack.
It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time, the Japanese government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.
The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. Very many American lives have been lost. In addition, American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu.
Yesterday, the Japanese government also launched an attack against Malaya.
Last night, Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong.
Last night, Japanese forces attacked Guam.
Last night, Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands.
Last night, the Japanese attacked Wake Island.
This morning, the Japanese attacked Midway Island.
Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation.
As commander in chief of the Army and Navy, I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense.
Always will we remember the character of the onslaught against us.
No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.
I believe I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost, but will make very certain that this form of treachery shall never endanger us again.
Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger.
With confidence in our armed forces – with the unbounding determination of our people – we will gain the inevitable triumph – so help us God.
I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, Dec. 7, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese empire.
Al – the United States had translated the message to the Japanese embassy before the embassy did and had already meet at high levels long before the ambassadors did. The ambassadors had been instructed to decode, translate and deliver the message just before the attack, but they had cut staff at the embassy for the weekend and were down to one person to do the work, plus they were destroying documents at the same time. You might want to read Gordon Prang’s series.
Eric
When does the ride end with you? There is so much spin with shedding the Bush Administration’s role in the Iraq mess and subsequent lawlessness it spawned both in Iraq, but also here at home.
It’s like an Alt universe…
Paul, I’m Irish (And Left Handed!) and I’m with you!
Saucy. The origin doesn’t matter, I’m offended! That’s all that matters.
We also need to get rid of Oklahoma since it means “People” “Red”.
What about the Rappers? Shouldn’t they lose any trademarks they have due to racial slurs? Boy it sure is fun being the PC police.
Jim22 – thanks for the support. We have two now. Just need three more. Luckily for me the Satanists have not gone after my alma mater’s mascot, Sparky.
Glenn Beck: Liberals were right about Iraq
http://americablog.com/2014/06/glenn-beck-liberals-right-iraq.html
“December 7th, 1941, will be a day that will live in Infamy!” So said FDR. Congress gave him a Declaration of War. Question of the Day here class: Has there been a Declaration of War since that one? How many wars have there been? Perhaps that is what the day will live in Infamy. No one needed to ask Congress for a Declaration of War since then. Thank you for your service.