Washington; and DeNver, Colo. - In the United States, the decision to go to war rests with the elected representatives of those who will do the fighting and
dying. It's one of the defining – and critical – elements of the republic.
Our nation's founders purposely rejected the European custom of kings starting wars essentially by decree. Instead, the drafters
delegated war powers to the legislative branch of the new government.
That constitutional assignment of power to Congress has not always been followed in practice. And it's in jeopardy now.
Presidents of both parties have sought to arrogate the power to go to war into the executive branch. In one recent and notable
example, senior advisers to President George W. Bush asserted that he had no constitutional obligation to seek authorization
from Congress for use of force in Iraq.
