The President’s War Powers

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/07/opinion/the-presidents-war-powers.html

Version 0 of 1.

To the Editor:

In “Congress Steps Up on Foreign Policy” (editorial, June 22), you point out the important measures Congress has taken to reassert America’s leadership on national security, foreign policy and human rights.

But if Congress wants to constrain the president’s use of war authorities in any meaningful way, it must ensure that any new authorization for the use of military force is clear, specific, narrowly tailored and compliant with international law.

The authorization Congress passed after 9/11 has now been used for well over a decade, including as justification for military operations in more than half a dozen countries and against groups that did not even exist on 9/11. The executive branch’s continued reliance on this overstretched and outdated authority undermines national security and human rights by dangerously blurring the line between war and peace when fighting terrorism.

Getting any new war authorization right is important for limiting the power of a president who has proved himself irresponsible, but it is also essential for protecting human rights and America’s global reputation.

RITA SIEMION, WASHINGTON

The writer is international legal counsel at Human Rights First.