European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 2, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Anthony Lewis War Boston a can president Bush take the country into War in the persian Gulf without the approval of Congress the question is heading toward decisive tests Legal and political. The answer could have profound consequences for our system and our internal peace. The president has moved very far toward War without asking for the consent of Congress. After Iraq gobbled up Kuwait in August he sent a Large american armed Force to saudi Arabia. Three weeks ago he ordered that Force almost doubled to give it an offensive capability. Now Bush has the authority of the United nations Security Council to take military action. A Long and skillful diplomatic Campaign by the president and Secretary of state James a. Baker Iii ended in Success on thursday when the Council authorized the use of a fall necessary Means after Jan. 15 to enforce previous resolutions on the Gulf. But the president has undertaken Only to consult Congress. That is very different from what the Constitution provides that Only Congress the House and the Senate shall have the Power to declare War. Legal conservatives have urged respect for the a a original intention of the constitutions framers. That is often difficult to discover but in the Case of the War clause the intention is exceptionally Clear. At the constitutional convention of 1787, delegates left it open to the president to use armed forces to repel sudden attacks. But a deliberate Choice of War was to be for Congress. James Wilson of Pennsylvania a key figure at the convention said Quot it will not be in the Power of a single Man or a single body of men to involve us in such distress for the important Power of declaring War is vested in the legis future at large.�?�. Presidents have used military Force a great Deal in recent years without any kind of approval from Congress. There were the Swift strikes on Grenada and pan but in this Case there is no sudden reason for action. . Forces have been in the Gulf for months. The . Security Council has passed a dozen resolutions. Americans Are openly debating the Issue. For a president to make War without congressional authority under those conditions would be to plow the Constitution under. The constitutional issues Are raised in a lawsuit by 38 members of Congress led by rep. Ronald a Dellums a Calif. It seeks a judicial decision that the president must have Congress approval to go to War in the Gulf. The representatives Brief is a notable compendium of constitutional and Legal materials on the Issue. Eleven distinguished Law professors have filed a memorandum As friends of the court arguing that the president May riot Quot order . Armed forces to make War without a genuine approval by _ 4 .1 a Patiam nil n it i nit Ftp a fan the 11 professors cover All Points of the Legal spec Lim. They include Erwin n. Griswold i Irum former Dean of the Harvard Law school who was solicitor general in the Nixon administration. The breadth of representation shows How scholarly opinion has moved against unilateral presidential War making. The professors memorandum says that Congress could give a affirmative authorization a for War in ways other than a declaration. But it says Congress must act formally not through Quot legislative silence stray remarks of individual members or other things said to amount to a a acquiescence in executive acts. That was evidently a reference to executive claims of congressional Quot acquiescence Quot in the Vietnam War. Political reality argues As compellingly As constitutional Law for the president to go to Congress Republican As Well As democratic leaders have said flatly that congressional authority is required for War. Now that the Security Council has authorized the use of Force Bush May go to Congress on the momentum of that vote presenting the members with something like a fait a comply. Will you stand in the Way he would ask of a policy that the world has approved Quot a a. But americans would be doing most of the fighting and dying in an attack on Iraq. Arid neither the Constitution nor the Law passed when the United states joined the United nations allows Congress to Delegate its War making responsibility to the Security Council. The ultimate political reality is the growing american opposition to War now. It cannot be brushed aside when it includes the weighty voices of James Schlesinger and James Webb Gen. David Jones and adm. William Crowe. To Rush to War in such circumstances Wou tube to risk tearing this country apart. New York time the opinions expressed in the columns and cartoons on this Page represent those of the authors and Are in no Way to be considered As representing the views of the stars and stripes or the United states . Resolution starts clock ticking for Iraq a j the Security councils decision to authorize Force against Iraq Marks one of the most important turning Points of the four month Long persian Gulf crisis both for president Bush and Saddam Hussein v the world Community has now declared its willingness to go to War if Nee Essary to drive Iraq from Kuwait or More specifically to support a .-led military action in which americans Are Likely to Bear the Brunt of the casualties the Resolution Quot is certain to intensity the diplomatic and military preparations on All sides in the next several weeks bringing into even sharper focus the question of whether there will be War or peace in the persian Gulf. Soviet foreign minister Eduard Shevardnadze summed up the resolutions Impact by saying it a gives time to think again. At the same time we Are giving the victims in this crisis a firm pledge that they will not have to wait much longer and help is on the Way. Quot today we have started a ironically while the Bush administration has been successful in gathering support abroad for the use of Force Rexold Tion backing for military action seems to be declining at Home a a the . Vote came As the powerful Senate armed services committee was holding hearings on the War and peace question featuring the testimony of sever at respected witnesses including two for Mer chairmen of the joint chiefs of staff. Who argued strongly for patience and for giving sanctions a Long time perhaps a year or More to work before deciding that War is the Only alternative. Bush started the clock ticking three weeks ago by announcing a major new dispatch of about 200,000 More troops to the Gulf and deciding not to use those troops to replace ones already there this has been widely interpreted As a direct threat to Iraq that War could come sometime Between january when the additional troops arrive and March when bad weather and islamic religious holidays begin. Now the . Resolution starts another clock ticking for Saddam virtually guaranteeing him that he will not be attacked by the .-led coalition for the next six weeks but warning him that if he does no to find a Way to withdraw from Kuwait he May face an internationally sanctioned attack any time thereafter. The Jan. 15 deadline docs not mean that Force will be used immediately after that Date passes. But because military action by the forces arrayed against Saddam could come at any time after mid january it gives Allied planners the element of sur prise and Means that Saddam will have to fake account of that. Until now american civilian and Kiili tary officials have indicated that their military forces were not prepared to take offensive action against the iraqis. The. Mid january deadline also would allow the bulk of the additionar200,000 or so troops ordered into the Region by Bush earlier this month to arrive in saudi Ara Bush the Security Council outcome provides a crucial Victory in a determined month Long Globe trotting Gamble by the president and Secretary of state James a. Baker Iii that they could marshal enough International support for a rare , Resolution condoning the use of Force to get Saddam out of Kuwait. The Strong . Vote presumably will strengthen Bush a hand in dealing with mounting debate and opposition in thu country both in. Congress and in to Countryside about the Wisdom of going to War soon with Iraq rather than waiting Foi a much longer period to see if the eco a nomic sanctions and embargo against Baghdad will eventually Force Saddam of of Kuwait without a War. Although Bush and Baker had argue that there already were grounds to Taw action against Iraq under existing charter rules Many others disagreed Ani the administration clearly wanted he backing for an unambiguous Resolution pertaining to the current crisis the vote also dramatized then Ltd Post cold War world of .-soviet relations. While Moscow also has supports All the previous Council resolutions do manding iraqi withdrawal the soy leadership had been strongly resistant t the endorsement of Force. But now to Kremlin has been brought along into Thi coalition As Well with soviet Fresi Dei Mikhail Gorbachev turning on Saddam i the last few Days with the strongest Lai Guage and sharpest warning he has eve it issued to the iraqi Leader. Washington Post a a
