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George Will Is Right!
By Townie 76
I don’t often agree with George Will. . .he and I are at the opposite poles on most issues, however I never miss the opportunity to read his commentary in the Washington-Post. His commentary is well reasoned, well argued, and well written; in fact, one should study his writing style to learn how to properly write.
Today, Dr. Will (a Ph.D in Government from Princeton) wrote about Congress reasserting it powers relative to Foreign Affairs. (See Washington Post).
I would go a step further, Congress must reasserts its right regarding the commitment of American Forces in protracted conflicts. (See United States Constitution) and in particular pay attention to the following Clauses:
To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offenses against the Law of Nations;
To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;
To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;
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, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;
Since the end of World War II, Congress has abrogated its responsibility towards the use of military force and in particular the commitment of the United States military to foreign conflicts. Regardless of ones positions of the rightness of the cause; no Declaration of War has been issued since World War II. The United States Military has been committed to Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Lebanon (twice 1950’s and 80’s), Grenada, Panama, Somalia, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq without one single declaration of war. In many of those instances cited, the cause went badly and the United States either left because public opinion was opposed to the cause, or because the price became too high.
There is plenty of room to debate the relative merits of Congress. I am not a particular fan of Congress, and in particular some of the leadership, on both sides of the aisle today. Having said that, I am a strong believer that Congressional approval is essential to the success of any commitment of the Armed Forces of the United States.
George Will is right, and his column was spot on. The Constitution is an amazing document, as it provides a logical road map of how a representative republic should work. After 200 years the wisdom of the drafters of that document amaze and astounds me for their ability to understand the essential elements of human nature. We would do our nation and our fellow citizens well if we read the Constitution more often in its entirety and not cherry pick those parts, which support our own prejudices.
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Comments
The post's point is well taken. The Constitution IS an amazing document. Sadly, it is also one of the least read documents in our nation.
The prime offenders, however, are members of Congress. They are either completely ignorant of what is in the document, or they are criminally guilty of ignoring it. And don't even get me started on Obama.
Regarding the declaration of war part of the post: I am less concerned about this. A war is a war whether you say it is or not.
I believe the American public has very little stomach for ANY type of protracted conflict - partly thanks to the media's daily hammering of the present war.
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