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The Constitution seems rather clear to me. “Congress shall have power . . . To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water” (Article I, Section 8). Further, “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” (Article II, Section 2).
While I admit that not everyone takes the Constitution literally, I would prefer that they did. Regardless, one can look at the debates of the Constitutional Convention, Aug. 17, 1787, to see that while it was expected that the president would repel any invasion and lead war, once declared, it was Congress alone that could declare and, without being directly attacked, instigate it.
As Rep. Roger Sherman noted on that day, “The Executive should be able to repel and not to commence war.” In “Federalist Paper 69,” Alexander Hamilton makes the same case. While the Executive could wage war, he could and should not initiate it. James Madison seems to have summed all this up in Federalist 51, when he notes that, “In republican government, the legislative authority necessarily predominates.”
At age 58, let me admit my bias. I have opposed every single American military intervention since 1989. While a graduate student at Indiana University, I even (rather pathetically) opposed one of then-President Bill Clinton’s many military adventures by leading a campus protest. Only about eight protestors showed up. That was the end of my formal rebellion.
I can also state that I was 11 when Iran took American hostages in 1979. I was and remain horrified by that. That year, our local radio station made frequent use of a mock song, “Bomb Iran,” imitating “Barbara Ann” by the Beach Boys. I’ve never forgiven the Iranian government, and I consider it to be one of the most evil extant governments over the last half-century. Though I wish President Donald Trump had taken his case to Congress first, I do not shed any tears over the collapse of the Iranian government, especially as I see the joyous reaction of Iranians across the globe.
I’m also ashamed by the company I must keep because of my constitutionalist position. Frankly, though, the Democrats cannot under any circumstances lay moral claim to the constitutional argument, no matter how obstreperous they are about it. For eight dreadful and bloody years, they sat by silently while former President Barack Obama dropped nearly 100,000 bombs without congressional authorization. He also droned hundreds, including innocent civilians and even two American citizens. Obama is nothing short of a bloodthirsty murderer, a true war criminal, and the Democrats have no one to blame but themselves for their impotence.
Yet, here we are, Constitution or no Constitution, at war with and in Iran. At this point, whatever my initial wishes, I can only pray for our troops and for the people of Iran. I wish them all well.
Bradley J. Birzer is professor of history at Hillsdale College.
