Don’t get too excited one way or the other: it calls for impeachment if the Obama admin. seeks international/NATO permission to attack Syria before coming to Congress
(WND) Let the president be duly warned.
Rep. Walter B. Jones Jr., R-N.C., has introduced a resolution declaring that should the president use offensive military force without authorization of an act of Congress, “it is the sense of Congress†that such an act would be “an impeachable high crime and misdemeanor.â€
This is in response to Defense Secratary Leon Panetta telling Jeff Session
“Our goal would be to seek international permission and we would … come to the Congress and inform you and determine how best to approach this, whether or not we would want to get permission from the Congress – I think those are issues we would have to discuss as we decide what to do here.â€
“Well, I’m almost breathless about that,†Sessions responded, “because what I heard you say is, ‘We’re going to seek international approval, and then we’ll come and tell the Congress what we might do, and we might seek congressional approval.’ And I just want to say to you that’s a big [deal].â€
Asked again what was the legal basis for U.S. military force, Panetta suggested a NATO coalition or U.N. resolution.
And, before someone gets all worked up and says “hey, Bush went to the United Nations and got Resolution 1441, which he then submitted to Congress….oh, crap, I just blew out my Liberal talking point about Iraq being an illegal war….”, here’s the text of the H. Con. Res. 107
Expressing the sense of Congress that the use of offensive military force by a president without prior and clear authorization of an act of Congress constitutes an impeachable high crime and misdemeanor under Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution.
Whereas the cornerstone of the Republic is honoring Congress’s exclusive power to declare war under article I, section 8, clause 11 of the Constitution: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that, except in response to an actual or imminent attack against the territory of the United States, the use of offensive military force by a president without prior and clear authorization of an act of Congress violates Congress’s exclusive power to declare war under Article I, Section 8, clause 11 of the Constitution and therefore constitutes an impeachable high crime and misdemeanor under Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution.
All it’s saying is that a president must come to Congress and get authorization prior to launching an attack. Which sets up an interesting showdown with the war powers act, which gives the President 90 days to launch an attack. Which some have claimed is unconstitutional from the get go. Which presidents of both parties have used. Except Bush. Who sought Congressional approval for Iraq and Afghanistan.
The resolution misses the mark in that it avoids the topic of seeking permission from the “international community” and blowing off Congress, such as was done for weeks regarding Libya.
Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.
And, of course, the resolution is nothing more than one Congressman’s proposal. It is barely worth mentioning until we get a sense whether anyone (let alone 217 others) would actually vote for it.
A bit too late IMHO. They should have done this right after Libya. Talk about usurpation.
I am left to wonder about all these anti-war, anti-blood-for-oil, anti-West people who crawled out of the woodwork during Pres Bush’s term in office? Where were they during Pres Clinton’s bombing of the Chinese Embassy and the Aspirin factories? Or now that Obama is still, basically, in Iraq? Still fighting a nasty war in Afghanistan? Still pushing for revolutions in Egypt, Libya, Syria, …. but not Iran fancy enough.
Where is they?? I hold my breath in anticipation of their scathing protests of this president… … … … … …