How do Exclusively Executive War Powers impact United States Politics? In terms of US war powers, it is well known that Congress exclusively holds the power in the Constitution to declare war. However, in more recent times, the Presidents have found ways to declare military action without the input of Congress, starting in the Cold War Era and extending into today’s military campaigns. In this paper, I will present current and former positions on the War Powers issue, and explain how in modern times, the construction of the balance of this important power has become overreaching and more exclusively executive instead of legislative. Review of Literature of Presidential War Powers Among scholars, this topic has been widely interpreted and debated
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War Powers Constraints have undermined International Law Constraints on the Use of Force, that no formal U.S. declarations of war have been made by Congress before Presidents took action in international conflicts. Ranging from Korea to Iraq and Afghanistan, every action was taken unilaterally, meaning directly by one person, in this case the president, in order to allow US military intervention (Hathaway, n.d.). In this piece and others similar, Hathaway also discusses the decline of congressional power and the gain of presidential power, stating that as Congress has allowed the president to use executive orders and immediate response to involvement in global conflicts, we have become a nation based around “self-defense” instead of “just cause” (Boylan & Kedrowski, 2004; Fisher, n.d.; Hathaway, n.d.). One of the prime examples of War Powers literature comes from the 1973 War Powers Resolution passed by Congress (Rep. Zablocki, 1973). As Vietnam was winding down, Congress sought to prevent other divisive wars with US involvement, Congress must be consulted within 48 hours if military action is
War Powers Constraints have undermined International Law Constraints on the Use of Force, that no formal U.S. declarations of war have been made by Congress before Presidents took action in international conflicts. Ranging from Korea to Iraq and Afghanistan, every action was taken unilaterally, meaning directly by one person, in this case the president, in order to allow US military intervention (Hathaway, n.d.). In this piece and others similar, Hathaway also discusses the decline of congressional power and the gain of presidential power, stating that as Congress has allowed the president to use executive orders and immediate response to involvement in global conflicts, we have become a nation based around “self-defense” instead of “just cause” (Boylan & Kedrowski, 2004; Fisher, n.d.; Hathaway, n.d.). One of the prime examples of War Powers literature comes from the 1973 War Powers Resolution passed by Congress (Rep. Zablocki, 1973). As Vietnam was winding down, Congress sought to prevent other divisive wars with US involvement, Congress must be consulted within 48 hours if military action is