According to article
two section two of the Constitution, the President of the United States is
granted the power of being Command in Chief of the Army and the Navy of the
United States. This civilian authority is important to dissuade the military
from the idea or act of a coup d'etat. As stated frequently since the
document’s inception, the vagueness of the text was to ensure the flexibility
and livability of the document. However, due to the vagueness, some
unscrupulous Commander in Chief decisions have led to some violations that some
would view as mistreating the power that comes with the Presidential role of
Commander in Chief.
The last time the
United States Congress declared war was in World War II in 1942. President
Franklin D. Roosevelt went through Congress to declare war for a second time
during the world war because he thought it to be the proper way to engage in
hostilities. While the United States has participated in multiple wars since
1942, Presidents have declared participation in these wars under many different
classifications without Congressional approval.[1]
- For the
Korean War, the United States joined the war under the United Nations
Security Council Resolution 84. The United States fought for this war
under the flag of the U.N., not the U.S. flag giving it leeway with
Congress.[2]
- For the
Vietnam War, the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution gave President Johnson the authority to move forward with joining the war effort without formally declaring war.[3]
The aforementioned
cases are two of the most well-known wars that were never declared as such. The
Commander in Chief norm of not declaring war but rather relying on other
measures to pursue the hostilities of war without direct approval by Congress
is dangerous. The precedent of participating in and/or starting a war without a
proper declaration by Congress leads to an imbalance in powers and leaves the
executive branch unchecked. Congress realized this problem and pass The War
Powers Act of 1972 to help limit a President’s ability to initiate or escalate
military actions abroad.[4] Congress has used this resolution as a way to oppose
American involvement in multiple wars such as Iraq and Yemen. However, Congress
has not used this resolution to its full power to properly check the misuse of Presidential
power of Commander in Chief. A current example of that misuse would be the US
raids occurring in Syria.
[1]https://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/history/h_multi_sections_and_teasers/WarDeclarationsbyCongress.htm
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