THE MACHINE
MILITARY POWER
Basic Power
Under the Constitution, war powers are divided. Congress has
the power to declare war and raise and support the armed forces ,
while the President is Commander in Chief. It is generally agreed
that the Commander in Chief role gives the President power to
repel attacks against the United States and makes him responsible
for leading the armed forces. During the Korean and Vietnam wars,
the United States found itself involved for many years in
undeclared wars. Many Members of Congress became concerned with
the erosion of congressional authority to decide when the United
States should become involved in a war or the use of armed forces
that might lead to war. On November 7, 1973, Congress passed the
War Powers Resolution over the veto of President Nixon.
The War Powers Resolution states that the President's powers as
Commander-in-Chief to introduce U.S. forces into hostilities or
imminent hostilities are exercised only pursuant to (1) a
declaration of war; (2) specific statutory authorization; or (3)
a national emergency created by an attack on the United States or
its forces. It requires the President in every possible instance
to consult with Congress before introducing American armed forces
into hostilities or imminent hostilities unless there has been a
declaration of war or other specific congressional authorization.
It also requires the President to report to Congress any
introduction of forces into hostilities or imminent hostilities;
into foreign territory while equipped for combat; or in numbers
which substantially enlarge U.S. forces equipped for combat
already in a foreign nation. Once a report is submitted "or
required to be submitted" , Congress must authorize the use
of forces within 60 to 90 days or the forces must be withdrawn.
United Nations Actions
U.N. Security Council resolutions provide authority for U.S.
action under international law. Whether congressional
authorization is required under domestic law depends on the types
of U.N. action and is governed by the U.N. Participation Act, as
well as by the War Powers Resolution and war powers under the
Constitution. Section 8(b) of the War Powers Resolution exempts
only participation in headquarters operations of joint military
commands established prior to 1973.
For armed actions under Articles of the U.N. Charter, Section 6
of the U.N. Participation Act authorizes the President to
negotiate special agreements with the Security Council, subject
to the approval of Congress, providing for the numbers and types
of armed forces and facilities to be made available to the
Security Council. Once the agreements have been concluded,
further congressional authorization is not necessary, but no such
agreements have been concluded. Some Members have sought to
encourage negotiation of military agreements under the U.N.
Charter. Questions include whether congressional approval is
required only for an initial agreement on providing peacekeeping
forces in general, or for each agreement to provide forces in
specific situations, and how they would relate to the War Powers
Resolution.
The U.N. Participation Act authorizes the detail of up to 1,000
personnel to serve in any noncombatant capacity for certain U.N.
peaceful settlement activities. The United States has provided
personnel to several U.N. peacekeeping missions, such as
observers to the U.N. Truce Supervision Organization in Palestine.
In these instances, controversy over the need for congressional
authorization has not occurred because the action appeared to
fall within the authorization in Section 7 of the Participation
Act. Controversy has arisen when forces have been deployed in
larger numbers or as possible combatants.
The National Security Revitalization Act, as passed by the House
on February 16, 1995, would have, among other things, prohibited
use of DOD funds for placement of U.S. armed forces under the
command or control of the United Nations for the purpose of
international peacekeeping, peace-enforcing, or similar activity
authorized by the Security Council, unless Congress specifically
authorizes it by law, or it is exempted from this requirement by
a Presidential certification. S. 5, the Peace Powers Act of 1995,
introduced by Senator Dole on January 4, 1995, would also have
placed the above restriction in place, and repealed most of the
existing War Powers Resolution. H.R. 1111, introduced by
Representative Dornan on March 2, would also have repealed most
of the existing War Powers Resolution. On March 15, 1995, Senator
Biden introduced S.564, aimed at clarifying Presidential
authority regarding the use of force abroad. None of these
measures were enacted during the 104th Congress