National War Powers Commission calls for new balance in time of conflict

By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service

Today the National War Powers Commission, co-chaired by former Secretaries of State James Baker and Warren Christopher, recommended to Congress a new relationship between Congress and the President in a time of armed conflict which has not been declared war. In his prepared statement, Christopher said that the approach they proposed would create a bipartisan Joint Congressional Consultation Committee, a body that the president would be required to consult with before deploying U.S. troops to any significant armed conflict, defined as “combat operations lasting or expected to last more than a week”. Christopher continued that if secrecy was important in the success of the operation, then the president must consult with the committee three days after the start of the combat. Within 30 days of the armed conflict beginning Congress must vote on whether or not to approve the conflict.

The proposed plan would replace the War Powers Resolution of 1973. Baker said that one of the biggest faults with the resolution is that “most legal experts consider it unconstitutional”, but went on to remind the body that the Supreme Court has not ruled on it. The 1973 resolution was brought about in response to the Vietnam War, which the president deployed military forces without a formal declaration of war. The proposed statute would improve upon the ’73 resolution in tempering the power of the president in armed conflicts lacking the formal classification of ‘war’, and as Baker said, “would promote meaningful discussion between the president and Congress when America’s sons and daughters are to be sent into harm’s way.”

Secretaries of state address the challenges the next president will face

Although the administrations they served held clear differences in their views on foreign policy, five former secretaries of state seemed to arrive at a unified conclusion: the next president will need to take innovative steps in order to restore the reputation of the United States abroad.

Speaking at a George Washington University forum on the challenges of the next president, former secretaries of state Madeline Albright, James Baker, Warren Christopher, Henry Kissinger, and Colin Powell touched upon a myriad of topics, including how the U.S. should engage with increasingly hostile regimes, what steps the next president should take to combat climate change, and what should be done about the current brood of humanitarian crises.

Iraq played an important role in the hour-and-a-half discussion and brought forth a disagreement between Albright and Kissinger. When faced with the question of whether or not the U.S. should adopt a timetable for troop withdrawal, Kissinger remarked that it gave every opponent the opportunity to hold out for a deadline. Albright replied,

"There's a difference from saying that we have to remove our troops by 16 months and saying we need to bring them out at x minute."

The five secretaries also backed future support of NATO, despite recent aggression from Russia.

"The Russian Federation is not going to be the Soviet Union. That movie failed at the box office," said Powell.

Domestic issues were also addressed. Baker, who also served as the Secretary of Treasury from 1985–1988 commented that the recent collapse of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Lehman Brothers was one of the worst economic disasters in the century and agreed with the recent decision to not bail out any more banks.

The election was discussed in the closing segment of the forum. Baker mentioned that he endorsed McCain, Albright said that she was supporting Barack Obama, and Powell continued to withhold his endorsement, saying that he will wait until the debates. When asked by moderator Frank Sesno if he was having a hard time deciding since Powell was the first black Secretary of State and Obama stands to be the first black President, Powell simply announced that he was an American first and foremost and would not let either his friendship with McCain or his similarity in race with Obama influence his decision.

While Kissinger did not mention whether or not he would endorse a candidate he did give his opinion on the superfluous nature of the presidential race.

"I think the 24 hour news cycle and constant demands produce a necessity on the candidate to pretend they have an answer to every question."

New statute of war gives Congress a seat at the table

The two Co-chairs of the National War Powers Commission, former Secretary of States James Baker, III and Warren Christopher, led a news conference in order to release findings and recommendations on the war powers of the president and Congress. Baker explained that the commission is independent and bipartisan and discusses how the U.S. makes the decision to enter into war. Baker also said that after thirteen months of study the commission unanimously declared that the War Powers Resolution of 1973 has failed to promote cooperation between the two branches of government.

Baker said that a new statute must be created in which the importance of meaningful discussion between the president and Congress is established. He explained that the commission recommends the War Powers Consultation Act of 2009 which would establish a clear process on decisions to go to war. Baker also said that this act would not limit the power of either the executive or legislative branches of government and would benefit everyone in the United States. He said that the new statute will create a process that will encourage the two branches to cooperate and consult in a way that is both practical and true to the spirit of the Constitution.

Christopher said that out of all the decisions the U.S. government must face, the decision to go to war is the most fateful. Christopher explained that the War Powers Consultation Act of 2009 provides that the president consult with Congress before deploying U.S. troops into “significant armed conflict” and defines the types of hostilities that would or would not be considered “significant armed conflicts.” The act also creates a new Joint Congressional Consultation Committee, establishes a permanent bipartisan staff with access to the national security and intelligence information necessary to conduct its work, and calls on Congress to vote up or down on significant armed conflicts within 30 days.

Another member of the committee, former Rep. Lee Hamilton, said that by enabling this act the U.S. government will take a “big step forward on a critically important point.” Hamilton explained that the president should always receive the best advice possible when it comes to making the decision of entering into war, and Congress can help give him this advice. Hamilton also said that he hopes the act will be supported by the next president and enacted early on because it would be “a wonderful start to the new administration.”