Iraq and the U.S. Constitution

It's a shame that no one in Washington cares about the U.S. Constitution any more.

It's a tragedy.

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And it's one of the reasons we have such conflict in the country today over the war in Iraq.

What does the Constitution have to do with it?

Before this war ever started, I pleaded with President Bush to seek a declaration of war from Congress before invading the country.

Our founders knew what they were doing in giving Congress the power to declare war and the president the job of conducting them as commander in chief.

While Congress clearly authorized the use of force, I suggested back in 2003 that it would be wise to follow the Constitution to the letter with a declaration of war.

I asked: "Why not seek it? Why not put everyone on record? Why not conduct a free-and-open debate in this country? It seems to me that is more important than these debates in the United Nations. It's the right thing to do – not only constitutionally, so there are no questions later, but it's the right thing to do politically.

"Bush will get his way in the Congress, and it would be a service to the nation to know just how committed Congress is to protecting America's vital interests. Put everyone on record now. This could be a tough fight. If it is, better to know how much support the war will have if problems develop.

"And that brings me to my final point.

"What if things don't go well?

"I think it's extremely dangerous to embark on any military campaign assuming smashing, unequivocal, certain and swift victory. It doesn't always work out that way – even when you have the finest fighting force in the world taking on an army that is prone to surrender to CNN cameramen."

That's what I said. But nobody listened. Not only was there no move toward a declaration of war, there was precious little debate about it – because no one cares about the Constitution any more in Washington. People looked at me like I was crazy for suggesting we follow the Constitution.

Now my worst anxieties about members of Congress having second thoughts have been realized in spades. Many of the same politicians supportive of the war in 2003 now claim they were fooled, deceived. It might have been different had there been a full debate back then about a declaration of war. There has to be something terribly sobering about voting to declare war – maybe sobering enough to snap Teddy Kennedy out of his intellectual and moral stupor.

But that's water under the bridge now. Back then the president goofed. He should have sought a declaration of war. He didn't. His mistake.

Today, however, we have members of Congress who seek to usurp the constitutional authority of the president as commander in chief by managing the war themselves.

Take Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa. Why this cheap crook, caught red-handed on videotape shaking down FBI agents posing as Arab oil barons during the Abscam sting, is still permitted to serve in the House is an indictment of the people of his district and the congressional leadership of both parties that should have refused over the last 30 years to seat him for his blatant illegal and unethical activity.

Nevertheless, he's now a ranking member of the Democratic majority, chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense. And he continues to come up with unconstitutional proposals for micro-managing the conduct of the war by Congress.

Since 2005, Murtha has been calling for "redeployments" of U.S. troops in Iraq. Now, with the Democrats' return to power, he is in the driver's seat – shepherding through the House legislation that is dangerous to this country's national security and violates the constitutional separation of powers.

Think about that. The founders could see why this kind of action would be unacceptable, preposterous, a recipe for defeat in any conflict. You can't have 535 secretaries of defense. You can't have 535 secretaries of state. You can't have 535 commanders in chief.

Rightly, Congress has the constitutional power to declare war, and it has the constitutional power to end them by cutting off funds. It expressly does not have the power to manage wars. It is so clearly unwise and unlawful for Congress to involve itself in how troops should be deployed, when they should be deployed and where they should be deployed.

Congress doesn't have that power because it would make no sense; the founders knew it and they assigned that authority to the president.

I have arguments with the president about the way this war has been conducted. I am free, as an American citizen, to express those opinions and participate in a national debate about them. But members of the House and Senate do a grave disservice to our military personnel and our ability to achieve victory by meddling – by attempting to wage war by committee.

There's only one solution. Get back to the Constitution.

No more undeclared wars! When we decide to fight, fight to win.

Do you find yourself voicing an "Amen" to Farah's direct, no-nonsense commentary? Then get his prescription for national renewal, "Taking America Back."