Radical Avenue

The CIA began interfering in the political and military affairs of other countries almost immediately upon its inception. Both Eisenhower and Kennedy had a hand in the Bay of Pigs fiasco. Congress has never declared war on Cuba. But the botched CIA plot of 1962 has contributed to bad blood with that country for almost half a century.

Congress did not declare war against any country in Southeast Asia during the Johnson administration, but we lost over 58,000 soldiers in the Vietnam conflict. As we now know, our armed forces also fought in Cambodia and Laos during the Nixon years. Really these countries were nothing more than pawns in a high stakes chess match between the Cold War titans of that era. Needless to say, our actions contributed to enormous political instability in the region and human suffering on a massive scale. A socialist government now rules Vietnam.

We finally withdrew completely from Southeast Asia on President Ford’s watch. Despite the unfortunate outcome of this prolonged engagement, our way of life in America hasn’t changed much. We’re left to wonder what our country ever had at stake in the region.

In the aftermath of Vietnam, Congress attempted to re-establish its wartime responsibilities through the War Powers Resolution of 1973. The resolution requires the president to “consult with Congress before introducing United States Armed Forces into hostilities or into situation where imminent involvement in hostilities is clearly indicated by the circumstances.” This law seems to have made little difference in the balance of power between Congress and the president. Congress never stops the president from sending troops into battle and never orders him to bring them home. Instead presidents use party politics to dominate our countries’ military and foreign policy agenda.

As the industrial revolution strengthened our country in the later half of the 19th century, presidents began to use the military to punctuate American diplomacy. We annexed Hawaii, Guam, Cuba and the Philippines during the McKinley administration. Theodore Roosevelt favored a muscular foreign policy. He used the Navy to intimidate opponents of the Panama Canal. Woodrow Wilson kept troops in Central America throughout his presidency.

In 1941, Franklin Roosevelt asked for and received declarations of war against Japan, Germany and Italy. The next year Congress declared war on Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania. World War II conflicts were resolved through peace treaties and the United States now enjoys positive relations with each of these countries.

Harry Truman’s copy of the Constitution apparently had most of Section 1 redacted. He sent the Army into Korea without a Congressional declaration of war. This controversial military engagement diminished the president’s standing with the American people. And although Congress has never declared war on North Korea, we’ve protected the South Korean border with around 30,000 soldiers since the 1950’s.

Truman’s royal gambit brushed aside the framers clearly expressed intent and pulled war powers into the executive branch. Truman also signed the National Security Act of 1947. That law, which created the Central Intelligence Agency, should have been called the National Secrecy Act. The CIA reports directly to the president and has limited Congressional oversight. The public often knows nothing about its initiatives until after a story comes out in a newspaper somewhere.

Commander In Chief, Harry Truman, South Korea

Article 1 of the Constitution describes Congress’ authority over the U.S. Armed Forces.
“The Congress shall have Power To provide for the common Defence, …To raise and support Armies
…To provide and maintain a Navy; To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;
…To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;
…To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States”

Alexander Hamilton contemplated a limited role for the commander in chief. “The President is to be commander-in-chief of the army and navy of the United States. . . . It would amount to nothing more than the supreme command and direction of the military and naval forces, as first General and Admiral of the Confederacy; while that of the British king extends to the declaring of war and the raising and regulating of fleets and armies, …all of which by the Constitution under consideration, would appertain to the legislature.”

Our fourth president, James Madison, is often known as the father of the U.S. Constitution. He wrote extensively about the role of Congress in sending our troops into battle. “. . . The power to declare war, including the power of judging the causes of war, is fully and exclusively vested in the legislature . . . the executive has no right, in any case, to decide the question, whether there is or is not cause for declaring war.”

“The constitution supposes, what the History of all Governments demonstrates, that the Executive is the branch of power most interested in war, and most prone to it. It has accordingly with studied care vested the question of war to the Legislature.”

Patrick Henry was one of the most outspoken and eloquent American colonists. He fervently supported revolution against the British Empire and is most famous for his proclamation “Give me Liberty or give me death.” Patrick Henry thought the Constitution allocated too much power to the president and the federal government. He opposed its adoption on these grounds.

“This Constitution is said to have beautiful features; but when I come to examine these features, sir, they appear to me horribly frightful. Among other deformities, it has an awful squinting; it squints towards monarchy; and does not this raise indignation in the breast of every true American?

Your President may easily become king. Your Senate is so imperfectly constructed that your dearest rights may be sacrificed by what may be a small minority…Where are your checks in this government?”

Commander In Chief, Constitution, Founding Fathers, Patrick Henry, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton

As the bloody struggle in Iraq drags on, gray haired Americans hear echoes of Vietnam. In both conflicts our commander in chief ordered massive troop deployments under questionable pretenses with lukewarm support from the country. Modern presidents believe that they have the right to invade other countries on their own accord. But when it comes to this most critical decision, the U.S. Constitution is unambiguous; Article 1, Section 8 (11) states: “Congress shall have the power … to declare war.”

In fact, our founding fathers despised the trappings of royalty and never intended to create a British style empire on American soil. Many had grave doubts about how future commanders in chief would exercise their authority over the military. So they purposely limited executive branch autonomy. However the perilous times called for an unambiguous military chain of command.

The American patriots were mostly farmers who found themselves overmatched in a battle against the heavily fortified British Army. The redcoats enjoyed superior firepower, but the colonists prevailed on their home soil thanks to strong leadership and a tenacious fighting force. Handing the military reins over to a battlefield ready president like George Washington made sense at the time.

With Great Britain posing an ongoing threat, the framers sought to unify the countries’ fighting forces behind a democratically elected leader. Back then, state militias did not report to the federal government. But the federalists won out over states’ rights proponents. The final draft of the Constitution gives the president commander in chief authority over the Army, the Navy and all of the militias. This top down defense management structure avoids leadership rivalries within the military.

The colonists’ concerns about an attack from across the pond were well founded. British troops invaded the United States and burned much of Washington DC to the ground during the War of 1812. Our homeland hasn’t been seriously jeopardized by a foreign entity since then.

Our founding fathers never expected that presidents’ would one day ignore the first page of the Constitution. They did not anticipate the role of commander in chief becoming a full time occupation during amorphous, never ending “wars” not declared on any particular country. The option of creating a corporate style military board of directors or elected war council never came up. Congress was expected to take the lead in this arena.

Successful private organizations are supervised by a board of directors. So while the chief executive officer manages day to day operations of the company, the directors retain ultimate control. Major investment of human and financial resources requires approval by the full board of directors, based on advice from the CEO. When it comes to direction of the US military, all we have is the CEO.

Transferring commander in chief responsibilities to an elected National Defense Council would promote lasting standards in the use of our Armed Forces and continuity in our worldwide strategic alliances. Such a group would be less vulnerable to personal distractions and less likely to use overseas deployments as a diversion from domestic political problems.

Commander In Chief, Constitution, Founding Fathers, War Powers