JALSA Calls for Congressional Reclaim of Constitutional Responsibilities Relative to any Military Deployment

The Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action (JALSA) released a statement today (January 14, 2007) in response to President Bush’s announcement that he would send 20,000 additional troops to Iraq. JALSA, a Boston-based social justice group, called on the U.S. Congress to reclaim its Constitutional responsibilities in carrying out the use of military force. The JALSA statement said that neither the Constitution nor Congressional legislation has given the President authorization for continued sole deployment of military force.

In 2001, Congress gave President Bush an Authorization for the Use of Military Force to combat those responsible for the 9/11 attacks, and the President has used that authority to wage war in Iraq, which was not responsible for the attacks.

Now, when the President proposes to increase troops, Congress must reclaim its Constitutional role in the war-making process. Although the Constitution makes the President commander-in-chief of our Nation’s armed forces, it also entrusts Congress with the powers to declare war and “to make rules for the government and regulation” of those forces. There being no evidence of Iraqi responsibility for 9/11, Congress never authorized Mr. Bush to use military force in Iraq. A 2006 study by the Congressional Research Service confirms this conclusion.

Past actions cannot be undone. Nevertheless, Congress owes the American people a Constitutional duty to make clear its intention to exercise its responsibilities, and then actually to do so. Equally, the President must respect the role entrusted by the Constitution to Congress.