Colleen S. McDonough !Introduction to American Government!Professor Barkalow!Current Event Journal #2!June 14th, 2015 ! !

“Obama Can Bomb Pretty Much Anything He Wants To” !Eric Posner!

September 23rd, 2014 !slate.com!!

! In “Obama can Bomb Pretty Much Anything He Wants To”, author Eric Posner discusses the potential legal and political implications of President Obama’s declaration of War in Syria. It is widely accepted that war practices are meant to be divided between the legislative and executive branch. Congress is meant to declare war and sort out the fiscal obligations of such declaration, while the President is to command both the Army and Navy. !!! So, it surprised and angered Obama’s critics when the President declared war on the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in September of 2014 without first seeking congressional approval. Bruce Ackerman of the New York Times stated that the decision “marks a decisive break in the American constitutional tradition” while others deemed his actions inexcusable and unlawful. Yet, author Posner suggestions that this “constitutional tradition” has been broken long before the Obama administration took office. Beginning with Truman’s declaration of war against Korea in ’74, Clinton in ’99, H.W. Bush in ’89, and Reagan in ’83 all went to war without approval. Each time this has occurred, “executive branch lawyers have ginned up an “implicit” constitutional authority to use force on one’s own—located variously in the commander-in-chief clause of Article II of the Constitution, or in the general grant of “executive power” to the president, which has been claimed to include at least limited war powers”. This idea of “executive power” is one that many call into question. Yet, no war time President has been convicted of any crime associated with calling the country into war regardless of the congressional opinion.!!! This widely disputed idea of presidential war declaration echoes both the fear of imperialism discussed in this week’s federalist papers, as well as the weakly defined presidential role examined in Chapter 11 of By the People. How can any member of the governing body of our country hold the President accountable for violating policy and procedure when the congressional definition for the role of the executive officer is incredibly flexible and changes over the course of time. Perhaps in today’s world, the founding fathers would see the fluidity of the office as purposeful and support the presidential ability for a call to action and !!! One can understand how Americans can find it troubling to think that our country might be called to war by the whim of one individual; that one wrong move in the eyes of our “king” would see bombs being dropped at a moments notice. Oddly enough, I find that same notion incredibly comforting. Congressional action was meant to be slow and tempered with many minds laboring over every implication of their decision. This is especially true in today’s political climate, where congressional officers “must” also consider the ideals of their constitutes, sponsors, etc. All of this baggage makes for an even slower decision making process, one not suited for times of war. Despite being burned by the Weapons of Mass Destruction scandal, I

still feel much safer knowing that the President with the aid of his staff can and will make swift decisions for the safety of our country.!! !!! !!