War Powers
Donald Trump and Syria: A Tough Lesson About Power
President Donald Trump taught a lot of people a tough lesson about power. Within days of Trump announcing he was pulling troops out of northern Syria, Turkish forces launched an offensive against Kurdish fighters in the region. Trump immediately came under sharp...
The Presidency and War Power
Readers of this column are familiar with the concept of the separation of powers, which James Madison crafted as integral to the Constitution. That concept mandates that Congress writes the laws, the president enforces them, the courts decide what they mean and...
James Madison on War as a Great Threat to Liberty
Excerpted from Political Observations, 20 April 1795 Of all the enemies to public liberty war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded, because it comprises and develops the germ of every other. War is the parent of armies; from these proceed debts and taxes; and armies,...
Uphold the Constitution, Bring Our Troops Home
Some sixteen hundred years ago, in the year 410 AD, barbarian armies under King Alaric captured the ancient city of Rome, ransacking and pillaging the center of the Roman Empire. The fall of the once-great capital sent terrifying shockwaves throughout the Western...