Sharing the Sword: The War Powers Resolution
Abstract
The 20 years that have elapsed since the War Powers Resolution (WPR) became law have not diminished any of the controversy to which it was born. Disputes involving its legality, practicability, and applicability have punctuated legislative-executive relations when decisions have been made to commit American troops abroad in which they faced an actual or imminent risk of military conflict. The controversy originates in the inherently ambiguous situations the legislation attempts to clarify, and in the contradictory opinions offered on the WPR's meaning, legitimacy, and relevancy. While almost no one challenges the President's power to repel sudden attacks against the territory of the United States (US), or the right of the Congress to commit the US to war, the WPR attempts to address those more equivocal cases involving the use of armed forces in the absence of a direct military threat to the US or a declaration of war, In doing so, the measure has become inextricably involved with more fundamental issues about the roles and powers of the President and Congress in authorizing the dispatch of US troops to conflicts abroad. Although the President and Congress have periodically used control of the armed forces as a constitutional "invitation to struggle" for over 200 years, President Truman's 1950 decision to commit on his own authority American troops to a major conflict in Korea precipitated the most dramatic confrontation with Congress over this issue until that time. The debate over war powers was joined with greater intensity in the early 1970s with the US mired in a land war in Southeast Asia and encountering huge American casualties. As a result, Congress began to reevaluate its role to ensure timely participation in decisions affecting the deployment of US military forces throughout the world and the commitment of those forces to hostilities involving other states in the international system.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1994
- Accession Number
- ADA440877
Entities
People
- Bob Warrington
- Charles Stevenson
- Dan Gaske
Organizations
- National War College