President Obama is again asserting his right to act unilaterally and without congressional approval in going to war. In what has become a mantra for this Administration, Obama reportedly told members of Congress that he does not need congressional approval to unleash a comprehensive military campaign against the Islamic State. The President informed a few members at a dinner — a striking image of how low congressional authority has become in our tripartite system of government.
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 (and most recently on whether he will resume the war in Iraq), Obama is again asserting his extreme view of executive power.
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.
I have repeatedly testified (here and here and here and here) and wrote a column on President Obama’s increasing circumvention of Congress in negating or suspending U.S. laws. However, war is a particularly egregious form of this unilateralism since the Framers worked hard to limit such powers under Article I and Article II.
Not only is the United States about to enter a new military campaign based solely on the President’s authority but he is promising to fight to the Islamic State “wherever their strategic targets are.” That may suggest additional violation of international law if the United States acts unilaterally with regard to the borders of foreign nations. Michèle Flournoy, a former undersecretary of defense for policy, seems to anticipate and support such actions. She is quoted as saying “This is not an organization that respects international boundaries. You cannot leave them with a safe haven.” For some countries, that view may seem quite threatening since the United States has been repeatedly accused of bombing and conducting operations in other countries without approval.
Once again, we are left with the questions of any limiting principle to this new uber-presidency. A president can now unleash a military campaign without congressional approval that could involve multiple nations. Yet, Congress seems content, again, to watch in a purely pedestrian role as if this invitation to a “dinner” is a sufficient substitute for congressional authorization. While it is not a check or balance, the president did pick up the check.
Source: Washington Post
Paul C the US government has the ability, along with it’s client states, to levy economic sanctions that another nation, Russia to use your example, cannot replace.
An example would be the SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) network used among other things to settle payments between nations.
Or
The US and it’s client states could cut off the target nation from financing provided World Bank, International Monetary Fund and other international financial institutions.
Please read Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confessions_of_an_Economic_Hit_Man
personanongrata – 1) I have a personal hatred of Wikipedia. 2) It does us no good to have sanctions against ISIS if Turkey is going to support them. Turkey does not want the Kurds armed.
The most dangerous man in the world, Putin, has been pimp slapping the Western world in Ukraine. Hell, he just took Crimea. We could launch a full scale war w/ allies in the ME and Europe, both destroying ISIS and Assad. The complicating factor has been that ISIS is the opponent of Assad. Well, destroy both of them. The Peshmerga are fighting mofo’s, they’ll take care of ISIS in Iraq, Obama just needs to arm them. We take out Assad and Putin will be shitting his pants. Screw sanctions. Putin needs a high and tight pitch AWAY from Europe. He’s evil but he’s not stupid. If we do that, Ukraine will be safe. And, WTF has happened w/ that plane Putin shot out of the sky???
I’m not sure your girl Hillary would even win the nomination. Crazy Joe Biden has gotten a new shot of testosterone. And, “cautious” is a very generous appraisal of your guy, Obama. I grew up in a street fighting, blue collar town. I didn’t like fighting but you had to prove your bones. The first thing I learned was when there was going to be a fight, no getting around it, you get in the first punch and you don’t stop until you have pummeled your opponent. We are paying the dear price of a man raised by women.
Swathmoredada: “BO is Harvard trained constitutional law “professor” who told us that he taught constitution and will obey the constitution .”
Teaching ConLaw does not automatically make one an originalist or adherent of any other particular Constitutional interpretive school.
Eric – technically I think Obama taught ConLaw II. Not sure that you cannot get through the Constitution in one course, but if they split it, that could be the problem. He knows everything starting with the 11th Amendment through 27. Anything before that is a black hole.
pcs –
The average Russian would say that Putin is the only true statesman in the world, and that calling Russia an “idiot country” is something that one would expect to hear from a paid shill or else someone who is hopelessly uninformed and possessed of very weak thinking/reasoning skills.
Obama has the balls, he just needs to head out to Martha’s Vineyard to get them out of the hazard. If that fails, then he can always borrower Hillary’s or Elizabeth’s.
Nobel Peace Laureate Barrack Hussein Obama has the solution to all of the worlds problems:
First the US government levies economic sanctions to weaken the target nation.
Second the US government arms and trains terrorist cadres to operate within and destabilize the target nation.
Third the US government launches a propaganda campaign demonizing the ruling elites/government of the target nation.
Fourth after the target nation has been weakened and demonized sufficiently the US government unleashes a humanitarian bombing campaign.
Fifth after the target nation has been bombed back into the stone-age and the target nations government toppled the US government will provide funds to rebuild the target nation while placing it at the mercy of Western multinational corporations/institutions and possible military occupation.
Sixth the US government picks another target nation and begins the cycle again.
The only way the vicious cycle of rampant US militarism ends is when enough American citizens stop sending their loved-ones thousands of miles from home to kill and die in support of the US governments bankrupt and stillborn ideologies.
personanongrata – we used up all of our ‘bomb them into the Stone Age’ bombs during our wars with Iraq. The problem is that if we have sanctions some idiot country (insert Russia) will give them what they need. To have sanctions, you need to be able to enforce it.
“To you, it is a shame that people fail to recognize the greatness of war mongering by Obama and other Democrats. “Not exactly… I was responding to your fellow Turley bloggers’ assertions that Obama does not have the “balls” to put troops on the ground.
SM,
What you see is the deep state at work. To you, it is a shame that people fail to recognize the greatness of war mongering by Obama and other Democrats. To others, it is important to commend the war mongering of Republicans. That’s a win-win for the deep state. It’s propaganda working at its best.
People now want war when that is the last thing our nation needs. The desire for war is nurtured in our people. Democrats have begun many wars. Instead of bemoaning how people fail to recognize the constant war making of Obama, maybe we could think about why Obama is always choosing war. We could see how both he and powerful Republicans agree that war and more war is always the best policy. We can think about why this agreement exists. We can examine the consequences of their choice for war.
These are all things we are capable of doing.
It’s so comforting to see how well this republic has progressed beyond that whole archaic tripartite form of government. The notion that the power to create and enforce laws, residing in different branches of government, is simply inefficient for the all wise leader. It’s a far simpler notion for the run-of-the-mill citizen to confine themselves to their own mundane lives and leave the sophisticated management of national and world affairs to the Execuslative Branch of government.
“Obama has the support to go after these animals. He doesn’t have the balls. I know you disagree. “No boots on the ground” is your philosophy. But, this is a golden opportunity and we don’t have a guy w/ the brains or balls to take it. For all my derision for Hillary, she would see the opportunity and take it.” nick I do appreciate Obama’s more cautious stance as the situation is very complicated. When Obama was elected the first time, people were tired of wars Now ISIS has them ramped up again. Yes ,Hillary has positioned herself to the right of Obama and if she decides to run she will probably win.
SWM, I can be coldly analytical. I said this recently. The Dems had an opportunity to take National Defense away from Rep for the first time since Truman. Obama has squandered that opportunity. The far left, Warren, Franken, see this and are talking tough. IMO, ISIS is a golden opportunity. The war on terrorism has been asymmetrical w/ small, diverse groups. ISIS is an army. That computes w/ the many who could not comprehend the asymmetry. Obama has the support to go after these animals. He doesn’t have the balls. I know you disagree. “No boots on the ground” is your philosophy. But, this is a golden opportunity and we don’t have a guy w/ the brains or balls to take it. For all my derision for Hillary, she would see the opportunity and take it.
Nick – does not make much difference unless you put boots on the ground. You can bomb the hell out of them, but you never get them all. We learned this during WWII and Vietnam.
“Gallup poll gives GOP 23-point lead in keeping US safe
By Peter Sullivan
The public thinks Republicans will do a better job keeping the U.S. safe by a wider margin than at any time since 2002, according to a Gallup poll.
The poll finds that 55 percent of adults think Republicans will do a better job protecting the country from terrorism and military threats, while 32 percent think Democrats will.
The poll comes as fears of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria have dominated the news, despite statements from U.S. officials that the group is not currently known to be plotting attacks on the U.S. It was conducted Sept. 4-7, before President Obama’s speech on Wednesday night laying out a strategy to defeat ISIS. ” The Hill With McCain getting ready to take over as Foreign Relations Committee Chair, the American people may get what they want. Bombs away…. I guess they forget that 9-11 happened on Bush’s watch.
SWM – Pearl Harbor happened on FDR’s watch and the invasion of Korea happened on Truman’s watch. Do you have a point you are trying to make?
WordMess ate a comment. Feed me Seemore.
Some think that this IS IS an oil war:
“What makes IS powerful today is the fact that they laid out their military strategy based on where oil fields are located. The fact that they went after northeast Syria and northern Iraq is not coincidental by any means. Islamic State may be ruthless and brutal, but it is first and foremost a terrorist organization with an astute business plan.
The capture of oil wells in Syria and Iraq has made the group financially self-sufficient. Now it’s all or nothing.” (Soft on Intelligence).
It could depend on what the meaning of IS is.
Dredd, I retrieved your comment at 11:09.
Dems see another Carter on their hands and they are pooping their pants. They know it’s bad for November. They fear another 20 years of minority. After Carter they @ least had the House. After Obama, they will have nothing!
Is Mister Ed the same guy that had the television show and was a talking horse?
Inasmuch as the Constitution was never signed, nor agreed to, by anybody, as a contract, and therefore never bound anybody, and is now binding upon nobody; and is, moreover, such an one as no people can ever hereafter be expected to consent to, except as they may be forced to do so at the point of the bayonet, it is perhaps of no importance what its true legal meaning, as a contract, is. Nevertheless, the writer thinks it proper to say that, in his opinion, the Constitution is no such instrument as it has generally been assumed to be; but that by false interpretations, and naked usurpations, the government has been made in practice a very widely, and almost wholly, different thing from what the Constitution itself purports to authorize. He has heretofore written much, and could write much more, to prove that such is the truth. But whether the Constitution really be one thing, or another, this much is certain — that it has either authorized such a government as we have had, or has been powerless to prevent it. In either case, it is unfit to exist.
They are working hard to push back that Rand Paul antiwar movement in the repub party. They did a purge in the 90s when they out conservatives, and now they need to do it again. It was encouraging to see, but I think most people underestimate the money and influence the neocons hold. They are on the offensive now, and it is troubling how effective this has been. They also needed something new for us to fear besides the nsa. Plus, they depend on the short attention span of the average American. Since it looks like the Malaysian airliner case has fallen apart, they just shut up about it–nothing further to make us fearful there. Keep us afraid is the game.