Commentary: Congress could stop the war
I am writing with a concern I have with the way people perceive the Iraqi War and President Bush.
Many people feel that the president’s decision to attack Iraq was wrong. However, while everyone blames the president for sending us to war, no one is blaming Congress. The Constitution of the United States in Article I, Section 8 gives Congress the right to declare war. Nowhere in the Constitution does it give that same right to the President or anybody else.
Congress can stop the president from leading us into war. It’s Congress’s right to oversee the actions the president takes in defending our country. Congress has led the U.S. into war only 5 times in this country’s history (the last being WWII), while the president has sent our troops into a conflict over 200 times. Congress is afraid to use its power to declare War, yet at the same time it's scared to stop the president from doing so.
In 1973, Congress passed the War Powers Act. This act gives Congress the right to control some of the president’s war-making powers. If the president sends the military into harm’s way, he must inform Congress within 48 hours. Should Congress not approve of the movement of troops, the president must bring them back to their original starting point within 60 days.
No matter what side of the war you are on, proper action should have taken place. Congress is letting the power of war be abused by the president, when it has all the means to stop him.
If Congress were to declare war, then all the responsibility would be on its shoulders. The people in Congress are afraid that they will lose your vote if something goes wrong.
You can do something about the problem. Call or write your representative and sentators and ask why they have not taken action to stop the president. If your representative won’t take the initiative, maybe it’s time you use your right to vote and elect someone that will get the job done.
William Hilburn
Taylorsville, Ga.
Education
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