WEEK 16: Presidential War Making

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Captain John R. Dennison, 24, of Ijamsville, Maryland, died on November 15, 2006, in Balad, Iraq, as a result of small arms fire. Dennison was assigned to 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.


THIS CLASS IS DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF CPT JOHN RYAN DENNISON, THE SON OF JACK AND SHANNON DENNISON, OLD FRIENDS OF OURS FROM MY EARLIER MILITARY DAYS. PLEASE GO HERE TO SEE MORE ABOUT THE LIFE AND FAMILY OF JOHN RYAN DENNISON.
In this our last class, we will review the constitutional framework for presidential war powers and discover that the Constitution does not provide us with authoritative answers as to how the powers of the president as commander in chief are to be exercised. In fact, the debates of the Constitutional Convention of 1787 focused on the power of Congress to declare war and specific powers over the military found in Article 1. However, the commander in chief clause found in Article 2 of the Constitution does give some specific powers to the president and this forms the basis for the debate over presidential power in times of national emergency.

This week in class we will discuss the following topics:

• The Constitutional Framework
• Presidents and the Military Establishment
• The Military Chain of Command
• Presidential Use of the Armed Forces
• Legitimizing Presidential War Making
• The War Powers Resolution of 1973
• A Christian Perspective on War

In more than 300 instances, U.S. presidents have relied on their constitutional prerogatives as commander in chief to use the armed forces abroad in situations of conflict or potential conflict to protect U.S. citizens or promote U.S. interests. Fewer than half of these situations involved any prior legislative or Congressional authorization. In January 2008, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) prepared for Congress an updated report and detailed listing of notable deployments of U.S. Military Forces overseas beween 1798 and 2007. To view this listing click on here. In fact there have been only five (5) times in American history when presidents have used the armed forces with congressional declarations of war.

In his 2002 State of the Union address, President Bush named the Axis-of-Evil nations in his response to the September 11 terrorist attacks. Since then there has been legitimate debate and interpretations of the Catholic just war tradition by Christians as they formulate a responsible U.S. answer to the terrorist threat. In this 2005 article "Bush vs. Benedict", you can read here how Catholic neoconservatives grapple with their Church's just war tradition, while on September 24, 2001, the Faith & Reason Institute sponsored a debate and discussion here at the Institute of World Politics on the Catholic just war tradition just two weeks after the September 11 terrorist attacks.

As we enter into Advent and the Christmas season and close out our U.S. President's class with a discusion of war, the McKeegan family just received word that our son, Kevin and his unit the 3rd Brigade of the 1st Cav Div, will be leaving December 18 for his second tour of duty in Iraq. It seems approprate to close out this week with this "Prayer for Those in the Military Service".

Lord, Jesus Savior of the World and King of Peace, watch over our son, Kevin, in the service of his country. Protect him from the physical and moral dangers of military life. Keep him close to You and help him live the Commandments. Lord Jesus, give him courage to serve his country with honor and dignity. Be with him when he is in danger; strengthen him when he faces hardships. Above all Lord, grant that when his service is finished he may return to us, sound in mind, body and soul. Amen.