(The below was referenced by a contributor.)
Boston Globe Staff / December 20, 2007
In what circumstances, if any, would the president have constitutional authority to bomb Iran without seeking a use-of-force authorization from Congress? (Specifically, what about the strategic bombing of suspected nuclear sites — a situation that does not involve stopping an IMMINENT threat?)
The President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation.
As Commander-in-Chief, the President does have a duty to protect and defend the United States. In instances of self-defense, the President would be within his constitutional authority to act before advising Congress or seeking its consent. History has shown us time and again, however, that military action is most successful when it is authorized and supported by the Legislative branch. It is always preferable to have the informed consent of Congress prior to any military action.
As for the specific question about bombing suspected nuclear sites, I recently introduced S.J. Res. 23, which states in part that “any offensive military action taken by the United States against Iran must be explicitly authorized by Congress.” The recent NIE tells us that Iran in 2003 halted its effort to design a nuclear weapon. While this does not mean that Iran is no longer a threat to the United States or its allies, it does give us time to conduct aggressive and principled personal diplomacy aimed at preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
Madison thought the most important clause in the Constitution was the requirement that Congress declare war. They had seen the negative consequences of monarchs who brought nations into war unilaterally, killed massive numbers of people and bankrupted countries.
Obama criticized Bush for doing this — although Bush consulted Congress a lot more than Obama has not only in Libya but the CIA led war in Pakistan. These are very dangerous wars that can easily become quagmires. Wars are unpredictable. Maybe Obama will be right and we will be out in a few days, but Lincoln thought the civil war would take six weeks, and Cheney thought the U.S. would be welcomed in Iraq with flowers. So, we’ll see how it unfolds. So far Obama has unilaterally spent several hundred million with each Tomahawk Cruise Missile costing $1.5 million.
The House of Representatives is supposed to be responsible for starting the appropriations process, we are cutting basic services (even in Obama’s crummy budget) but for war Obama (and in the end Congress) can always find the money.