War Powers
Using Force in Ukraine Requires Congressional Approval
Commentators are suggesting that the U.S. establish a no-fly zone in Ukraine, and perhaps take even stronger military action, in response to the Russian invasion. Putting aside the wisdom of those suggestions, the Constitution’s original meaning requires that...
Can the President Kill?
Last weekend, President Joseph R. Biden Jr. ordered the U.S. military to bomb targets in Syria and Iraq in an effort “to send a clear and unambiguous deterrent message” to Iran. It is apparently the belief of the Biden administration — as it has been with...
The Power to Make War
Two weeks ago, while the House of Representatives was finalizing its 700-page legislation authorizing the Treasury to borrow and spend $1.9 trillion in the next six months, and the Senate was attempting to confirm more of President Joseph R. Biden’s cabinet...
Trump’s Quiet Little War in Somalia
Through the first seven months in 2020, the U.S. military under Pres. Donald Trump conducted 43 airstrikes in Somalia. That compares to 42 U.S. airstrikes in that country from 2007 to 2017. In other words, in just seven months, the Trump administration bombed Somalia...