"In this week's edition of my column, Fault Lines, I wrote about how the Trump Administration's policy of shoot first and don't answer questions later might be a conscious effort to circumvent or perhaps even erase the country's collective memories of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. It's long been conventional wisdom that the public would never approve of yet another interminable conflict in the Middle East."
"Congress certainly doesn't seem interested in making decisions on military action. Ruth Marcus argues today that, with this latest attack, it has fully ceded its legislative authority, leaving seemingly no checks on the executive whatsoever. She warns: 'The Framers would have found this chilling.'"
"Earlier this week, my colleague Susan B. Glasser asked a similar question in her weekly column: 'Can the U.S. win a war of its choosing when it cannot explain why it chose to fight or what, exactly, victory would mean?'"
The Trump Administration's approach to military action in Iran represents a departure from historical precedent, where officials once felt obligated to justify military decisions to the public. Rather than seeking approval or explaining rationale, the administration appears to operate under a "shoot first and don't answer questions later" policy. This strategy may intentionally circumvent public memory of prolonged conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. Congress has largely abdicated its constitutional authority over military decisions, leaving executive power unchecked. Constitutional scholars and historians note this represents a significant erosion of the checks and balances the nation's founders established, raising fundamental questions about presidential war powers and democratic accountability.
#presidential-war-powers #congressional-authority #military-accountability #constitutional-checks-and-balances #middle-east-conflict
Read at The New Yorker
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