Read the Constitution Before You Shout
By Bill Wilson, KIN Senior Analyst
WASH—Mar 4—KIN--There are a lot of people declaring that the recent strike on Iran was illegal and unconstitutional. That makes for a sharp sound bite. It just doesn’t make for solid constitutional analysis. Before anyone rushes to social media court, it helps to actually read the governing documents. The U.S. Constitution divides war authority between Congress and the President. Article I, Section 8 gives Congress the power to declare war. Article II names the President Commander in Chief. That tension is not new. It has existed since 1787. The question is not whether Congress can declare war. It can. The question is whether every military strike equals a declared war under constitutional law. History says otherwise.
Congress attempted to clarify this tension after Vietnam with the War Powers Resolution of 1973. It requires a president to notify Congress within 48 hours of introducing forces into hostilities and withdraw them within 60 days unless Congress authorizes continued action. Every president since its passage has filed reports “consistent with” the Resolution while often disputing its constitutionality. More importantly, nearly every modern president has initiated military strikes without a formal declaration of war. Truman in Korea. Carter in Iran. Reagan in Grenada and Libya. Clinton in Kosovo. Obama in Libya. Trump in Syria. Biden in Syria and Iraq. The United States has not formally declared war since 1942, yet it has conducted dozens of military operations.
Consider Libya in 2011. President Obama ordered U.S. participation in NATO air operations without an Authorization for Use of Military Force. When the 60-day War Powers clock expired, the administration argued that U.S. forces were not engaged in “hostilities” as defined by the Resolution because there were no ground troops and limited exposure to enemy fire. Congress objected loudly. Then it did nothing. No funding cutoff. No binding enforcement action. No impeachment. The operation continued. If critics today claim that any strike absent a declaration of war is automatically unconstitutional, then they must indict a long line of presidents from both parties. Selective outrage is not constitutional scholarship. It is politics dressed up as principle.
Here is the bottom line. Congress holds the power to declare war and the power of the purse. Presidents command the armed forces. The system was designed with friction built in. If Congress truly believes a president has exceeded authority, it can refuse funding or pass binding legislation. When it does not, that silence carries weight. Throwing around the word “unconstitutional” without reading the Constitution, the War Powers Resolution, or the historical record is not civic virtue. It is noise. Proverbs 14:15 reminds us, “The simple believes every word, but the prudent considers well his steps.” Spouting off when you do not know the facts, and simply believing what you are told because it fits your narrative, is not only the height of ignorance. It is the heart of, say it with me, stupidocrisy.
Sources
U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 8
https://constitution.congress.
U.S. Constitution, Article II, Section 2
https://constitution.congress.
War Powers Resolution of 1973 (50 U.S.C. §§ 1541–1548)
https://uscode.house.gov/view.
Congressional Research Service, Instances of Use of United States Armed Forces Abroad
https://sgp.fas.org/crs/