Congress should vote on expansion of military action against ISIS

The Obama administration this week declared that it had begun its yet-to-be-named expanded operations against ISIS, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. The administration’s new military action, which consists of more airstrikes and increased aid for Iraqi armed forces and Free Syrian Army forces, follows videotaped beheadings of journalists and aid workers in the area. Amid debates over the efficacy and long term goals of President Obama’s plan for military action there has been a disturbing lack of serious debate about the necessity of congressional authorization. Though many will argue that today’s threats require flexible executive powers, the expansion of power in the Oval Office should concern everyone.

The expansion of executive power has been well documented, going back to its most egregious increases during the Vietnam War under Richard Nixon and later under Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. These experiences did lead Congress to attempt to restrain the presidency over the years -- the 1973 War Powers Resolution after Nixon's presidency is a major example -- but to little effect. Throughout the years, the expansion of war powers on the part of the presidency has placed a greater and greater deal of unchecked power in the hands of the Commander-in-Chief to send Americans into danger and to kill people around the world. While the Constitution does give the President an ample amount of power as “Commander-in-Chief,” the erosion of checks-and-balances that prevents the President from acting upon his or her unrestrained personal will continues unabated.

A problem like this demands attention -- yet Washington remains eerily quiet. Each of the major party leaders, Senators Mitch McConnell (R-Kent.) and Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Representatives John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has put together a press release lauding the President’s efforts. Congress seems entirely too willing to let the long war in Iraq continue without a vote. Even if enough of our elected representatives wanted to expand the legislative branch’s checks on the presidency in the post-Sept. 11 world, this Congress has an abysmal record in passing bills.

If Americans want to see their voices heard in the discussion of the seemingly endless global war on terror, Congress must change the way it operates. The introduction of a new law or perhaps even a new amendment to the Constitution could be passed to oblige our officials to take a vote on military action -- regardless of  the gridlock in Congress today. If the American people are to have some kind of say in how these wars play out, something has to change. Congress should muster what political courage it has left and make that change.