More checks before war

Dallas Morning News: Perhaps the toughest decision for any president or Congress is whether to go to war.

Aside from the moral implications and human toll, the Constitution leaves much ground unplowed. The president is commander in chief, but Congress is accorded the power to declare war.

Recently, a National War Powers Commission, co-chaired by former Secretaries of State James Baker and Warren Christopher, unveiled an ambitious proposal to make sure the decision comes after the president and Congress have had detailed discussions. It’s a long overdue reform.

Genius

There’s genius in the Constitution’s ambiguity, which the Founding Fathers intended as a check on imperial recklessness. In the aftermath of Vietnam, a congressional resolution passed in 1973 now requires the president to notify Congress within 48 hours of committing troops to military action. It also forbids troops from remaining for more than 60 days without an authorization of force or a declaration of war. Most scholars doubt that the 1973 resolution would pass constitutional muster if it were tested, and every president since Richard Nixon has winked, nodded and sidestepped the resolution’s requirements.

In place of the 1973 resolution, the commission wants a new law that would explicitly require the president to consult Congress before ordering a “significant armed conflict.”