Democrats, the Constitution and Iraq

A Washington Post article today outlines the strategy of the anti-war left to force an ignominius retreat from Iraq while at the same time not defunding the military. To this end, Speaker Pelosi and Congressman Murtha intend to try and hamstring the President’s ability to send troops to Iraq and to restrict his ability to extend tours of duty in Iraq. Further, Speaker Pelosi has claimed that the President cannot use any force against Iran without first seeking the authorization of Congress. While this last issue is a close one, involving not only the Constitution, the War Powers Act of 1973, and how these provisions have been treated historically (i.e., Presidents have authorized numerous acts of force without first seeking Congressional authorization and an a declaration of war), the other actions would seem to likely run afoul of the constitution.

While Congress certainly has the power to fund the military and to say whether land forces may be committed to war against another nation, it is the President who has the executive power of command over the day to day activities of the forces. Specifically, The United States Constitution, Article I, Section 8 provides that the "Congress shall have power to . . declare war . . .; to raise and support Armies . . .;to make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land . . forces. . . . Article II, Section 2 provides that "The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States . . . ."

Since the Congress has already authorized the use of force in Iraq, it would seem that, at the least the current plans of Pelosi and Murtha to hamstring the President would infringe on the power of the President to command the military. As an aside, it should be noted that the sham non-binding resolutions of Congress condemning the surge in Iraq are a criticism of command decisions of the President. Thus, were the Congress to pass a law stating that the President could not authorize the surge, it would be an unconsitutional restriction on Presidential authority. In any event, it would appear that we are heading towards a constitutional crisis in the very near future brought on by overreaching liberals.