Radical Avenue

George W. Bush apparently believes that as president, he has the right to declare war. On December 31, 2002, in response to a reporter’s question about a “possible war with Iraq” and other foreign policy concerns, the president retorted, “You said we’re headed to war in Iraq… I don’t know why you say that. I hope we’re not headed to war in Iraq. I’m the person who gets to decide, not you.” When we entered Iraq in 2003, it was without UN or NATO support.

Congress did not declare war on Iraq, perhaps because Iraq has never attacked the United States and posed no immediate threat to us prior to our invasion. Instead Congress passed a resolution giving the president authority “to use the Armed Forces of the United States as he determines to be necessary and appropriate in order to defend the national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq.” It stands as the most complete abdication of Congressional Constitutional responsibility since the 1964 Tonkin Gulf resolution. We’re fortunate the Supreme Court hasn’t asked the president to serve as Chief Justice.

President Bush has appointed a war czar to oversee the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Since when does the president declare war and leave the prosecution of that war to others? It’s hard to imagine the “first General” described by Alexander Hamilton handing leadership responsibilities over to subordinates.

The United States has troops in Afghanistan, Bahrain, Cyprus, Djibouti, Egypt, Finland, Guatemala, Honduras, Indonesia, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Morocco, Nigeria, Oman, Peru, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Togo, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela, Yemen and Zimbabwe. Our Navy fleet owns the high seas. Our Air Force patrols the sky. We’re even in outer space.

In the middle of summer we celebrate the day our founders declared their independence from a distant, isolated monarchy. Seasons change. Our country has been transformed into the modern day equivalent of that kingdom we rejected in 1776. The sun never sets on the United States Empire.

troop deployments, Commander in Chief, war, Iraq, George W. Bush