George Friedman
The U.S. attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities has raised an important constitutional issue. The U.S. Constitution gives Congress the authority to declare war. It was a wise and appropriate principle. Wars are perhaps the most consequential actions a nation can take. They can put a nation’s very survival at risk and endanger military and civilian lives. Wars also reshape the economy and must by nature place some limits on citizens’ constitutional right to control government actions. Congress is designed to be the representative and guarantor of the right of citizens to govern themselves.
Therefore, the idea was that the United States could not wage war without the consent of Congress, nor avoid war if Congress deemed it necessary. As commander in chief of the military, the president could decide how a war would be waged but not whether there would be a war.
The last time the United States followed the Constitution in going to war was in December 1941, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, when it declared war on Japan. In response, Japan’s allies, Germany and Italy, declared war on the United States. Since that time, the United States has waged numerous wars and military actions decided upon solely by the president, acting as commander in chief, without congressional action. The constitutional requirement for Congress to approve war has been ignored. Though Congress retains the option to vote against the funding of wars, it has exercised this power rarely and only marginally, since doing so once a war is underway and American lives are already at risk is politically and morally fraught.
This constitutional erosion since World War II is largely due to changes in technology and the nature of modern war. When the Constitution was written, the U.S. engaged in wars much more slowly. Mobilizing and invading a country took more time than it does today. Surprise attacks like Pearl Harbor were rare – and even Pearl Harbor did not threaten the immediate survival of the U.S. military or the nation. Afterward, there was still time to convene Congress and secure a formal declaration of war. Given the isolationists’ strength in Congress, a war declaration prior to the Japanese attack would have been time-consuming and may have failed. But the nature of time in war has changed dramatically, especially over the past 20 years. A modern Pearl Harbor might defeat the U.S. military in a few hours.
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