Panetta Disregards Congress’ Enumerated Power to Declare War
By Melancton Smith • Thursday March 8, 2012 6:51 PM PDT • 13 Comments
Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution provides that Congress has the power
To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;
To raise and support Armies . . .
To provide and maintain a Navy;
Today, Leon Panetta told the Senate that if the Administration decided that war with Syria is in our best interests, he could not promise that Congress would be consulted. Panetta did indicate that the Administration would seek an international mandate, but he made clear that Congress, despite the clear words of the Constitution quoted above, plays second or third fiddle on these calls. Anti-War.com has this post on Panetta’s insults to the Senate.
The debates surrounding the Constitution of 1787 make clear that Congress was given this power because the Framers were mindful that the monarchy or executive branch in other nations frequently involved their countrymen in unnecessary foreign adventures. The English monarchs, for example, were often sending troops across the Channel to defend the land of a cousin or to lay claim to some ancestral holding that meant nothing to their subjects back home. The Constitution meant to save us from such misadventures by giving the people’s representatives the decision-making authority on war.
Like so much of the Constitution, the Administration prefers to ignore that which does not give it maximum authority.
Tags: Constitution, Defense, Imperialism, Law, Military, Peace, Presidential Power, War 
What else is new? This so-called president has no regard for the Constitution he took an oath to uphold! This has been proven time and time again during his administration! He needs to go and we need someone who will follow and uphold the Constitution! A man that will keep his word! GO MITT ROMNEY!
Phyllis Freeborn | Mar 9, 2012 | Reply
WAKE UP AMERICA Barack Hussein Obama aka Barry Soetero is dedicated to the destruction of our Constitution and will not be deterred if given another term.
J Neal Churchill | Mar 9, 2012 | Reply
Wanna provide substance to the last comment in your diatribe? It is easy to blather ignorant rubbish as a salacious way of lying but a lie is a lie. Please justify the President’s disregard for the constitution with examples or else update this piece of garbage journalism with a correction.
You are a complete idiot in the vein of Rush Limbaugh. Grow up and grow a pair or go away.
rational guy | Mar 9, 2012 | Reply
Impeach Obama!!!
nina foster | Mar 9, 2012 | Reply
We should be providing emergency international assistance for the genocide happening in Syria. It’s a massacre. Individuals trying to flee certain war-torn areas have to pass through check points at which time the ‘Ruling’ Military takes all of the men to an area close enough for the family members to hear their beloved men being tortured and then ... the final shots, and silence. We should not be silent, nor should we invade another country without the acceptance of Congress.
Jill Ballard | Mar 9, 2012 | Reply
Thanks for the entertainment, (Ir)rational guy. I see that you drink a lot of Obama Kool-Aid. Is it tasty?
4th Amendment – Continuation of the Patriot Act. Warrantless searches of emails and phone calls? Self-written search warrants? Ring a bell?
5th Amendment – Due process? That’s for sissies. Send in the drones!
6th Amendment – Speedy and public trial? I guess a hellfire missile that destroys a jeep and a few innocent civilians qualifies, right?
8th Amendment – Cruel and unusual punishment? They’re terrorists, by God! Waterboard those SOBs. The hundreds of people that were ultimately released from Gitmo because there was no evidence against them? Collateral damage, right?
Or we could talk about habeas corpus, the declarations of war that don’t occur, the 9th and 10th Amendments.... Why bother, “rational guy”? In your delusional mind, we should just blindly trust Obama to do the right thing.
What a putz.
Steve H. | Mar 9, 2012 | Reply
Steve, this makes absolutely no sense. This is totally incoherent. What the hell point are you trying to make?
Mark | Mar 9, 2012 | Reply
Libya
Rick Caird | Mar 10, 2012 | Reply
“Libya” was a complete response to “irrational guy” who wanted an example of how this administration violated the Consitution.
Rick Caird | Mar 10, 2012 | Reply
Obama is but one in a long line of Presidents who have violated the Constitution, especially the Bill of Rights. They are not alone, however; Congress has exceeded its enumerated powers (Article I, Section 8) for decades. It’s called Legislative Absolutism, a term coined by Supreme Court Justice Harlan in 1901—passing bills into law with no regard for the limits imposed by the Constitution. For example, nowhere does our Constitution authorize the Fed Gov’t to have anything whatsoever to do with education.
It’s clear to anyone who can read and is of average intelligence (perhaps less) that our Fed Gov’t is the largest Organized Crime Family in the nation. Also clear is that there are only two meaningful political groups in the USA—the Oligarchs and the rest of us. All other dichotomies, such as Repub v. Dem, Conservative v. Progressive, etc., are utterly meaningless, mere distractions designed to keep the electorate ignorant. What a shame that we let all this happen.
Scott Haley | Mar 12, 2012 | Reply
Ron Paul 2012! Free yourselves!
Freedom | Mar 13, 2012 | Reply