Tea at Trianon: Invoking the War Powers Act

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Saturday, July 22, 2023

Invoking the War Powers Act

From Blaze:

Late last year, a Ukrainian missile strayed into Poland, but was misidentified in the press as a Russian missile. Such spillover from the fighting between Ukrainians and the Russian invaders could easily and swiftly bring America directly into the conflict.
"President Biden did the same thing at the beginning of the war in Ukraine in 2022, massively increasing our active-duty force presence when we knew hostilities were imminent. But now it’s even more risky because hostilities are active," continued Lee. "Not only does this run the risk of further locking us into supporting Ukraine, now the military-industrial complex will say the US military presence is THE one thing preventing Russia from crossing NATO’s eastern border & that we have to maintain such presence indefinitely."
According to Lee, this may amount to a "long-term security guarantee. Another endless war but this time by proxy."
The Utah senator said that "this makes me really uneasy," adding that "we might have to invoke the War Powers Act."
The War Powers Act states that, unless Congress has declared war, the U.S. military and members thereof cannot be "introduced in hostilities or in situations where imminent involvement in hostilities is clearly indicated by the circumstances" unless:
they are repelling an armed attack on the U.S., its territories and possessions;
they are taking "necessary and appropriate retaliatory actions in the event of such an attack";
they are forestalling the direct imminent threat of such an attack;
they are providing protection for evacuation of American citizens; or
they have "specific statutory authorization," such as the 2001 "Authorization for Use of Military Force ."
Lee acknowledged that a resolution passed under the War Powers Act could be vetoed by the president. To override such a veto would require a two-thirds vote from both houses of Congress, meaning it would have to be a bipartisan effort.
The Utah senator was part of a bipartisan legislative effort in 2021 to reclaim for Congress "its rightful role as co-equal branch on matters of war and national security."
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said at the time that Congress had "acquiesced to the growing, often unchecked power of the executive to determine the outline of America's footpring in the world."
Should a War Powers resolution such as that proposed by Lee fail, the senator indicated Congress would still have the "option of defunding, but that's tricky too because spending legislation is also subject to presidential veto." (Read more.)