[Peace-discuss] Fwd: [indict-nato] The Salt Lake Tribune -- Another View Invading Iraq Is Unconstitutional
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manni at snafu.de
Wed Mar 19 01:21:27 CST 2003
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> From: "Christopher Black" <Bar at IDirect.com>
> Subject: [indict-nato] The Salt Lake Tribune -- Another View Invading Iraq
Is Unconstitutional
> Date: Tue, 18 Mar 2003 17:33:15 -0500
> -----
> The Salt Lake Tribune -- Another View: Invading Iraq Is Unconstitutional
>
>
> MONDAY
> March 17, 2003
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> Another View: Invading Iraq Is Unconstitutional
>
>
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>
>
> BY ED FIRMAGE
>
>
> President George Bush is leading this country into a
> war that is at once unconstitutional, a gross violation of international
la> w, aggresses our own civil liberties and threatens our national
security
by> violating norms of common sense, including the Powell Doctrine
stemming
fr> om the lessons learned from the first Gulf War.
> First, this war violates the U.S. Constitution. The
n> on-delegation doctrine of American constitutional law forbids
Congress
dele> gating to another branch of government its own unique core
responsibilities> ..
> The resolution rammed through the Congress by this
ad> ministration in the emotional spasm following 9-11 was exactly that: a
dele> gation to the president of the war-deciding power exclusively given
to
Cong> ress by the Constitution. That exclusivity of the power to decide for
peace> or war was what motivated Thomas Jefferson to write the
constitutional
fra> mers from Paris, where he was American ambassador to our oldest
ally,
Franc> e, and congratulate them for "chaining the dog of war."
> The Congress, under unrelenting pressure from
Preside> nt Bush, simply abdicated its constitutional power by delegating
the
decisi> on for peace or war to this man hell-bent for war at any cost. The
Congress> declared its own bankruptcy as the president demonstrated
his own lack of
> the qualities of leadership to accomplish by negotiation and diplomacy
the
> preservation of the peace by peaceful means.
> Second, international law, including scores of
treati> es to which we are party, made part of our domestic law by the
supremacy
cl> ause of the Constitution, forbids our waging aggressive war. We have
not
be> en attacked by Saddam Hussein's Iraq. He is all the bad things Mr.
Bush
cla> ims. But any connection to Osama bin Ladin, who has attacked the
United
Sta> tes, is simply nonexistent. The only connection between the two is
Presiden> t Bush, who is pushing together two men who loathe each
other.
> The late Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson, the
Am> erican prosecutor of the war criminals at the Nuremburg trials
following
Wo> rld War II, stated the American definition of international law, later
made> the universal law of the entire world by unanimous acceptance by
the
Unite> d Nations: "Our position is that whatever grievances a nation may
have,
how> ever objectionable it finds the status quo, aggressive warfare in an
illega> l means for settling grievances or for altering those conditions."
> Mr. Bush's war violates international law and
constit> utes a war crime.
> Third, Mr. Bush's war violates the Powell Doctrine,
f> ormulated by his own secretary of state when Colin Powell served
admirably
> as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under the first President Bush in
> the Gulf War of 1990-91.
> Wars, if we were to take part, were to have a
clearly> identifiable and achievable goal. Sufficient force must be
assembled and
u> sed with restraint. And third, there must be a sensible and swift exit
stra> tegy. Only the second is now done: God knows we have assembled
the power
to> wage war and topple Saddam. But we do not do this to establish
democracy
b> y launching 3,000 precision-guided missiles at Iraq. Where has
democracy
be> en established by destroying a country?
> Democracy is a special flower that must be grown
with> in a people's heart and soul over decades and centuries. Our help
can be
vi> tal. But it must be done by our own example in a world at peace, not by
mil> itary occupation under a new colonial, imperial, military government
enforc> ed by brute power.
> Nor will we rid the world of its dictators or their
w> eapons of mass destruction by launching our own weapons of mass
destruction> .. Our means and our ends must be congruent. Our own
brutal aggression will
> not accomplish anything but increasing the misery of the Iraqi people
and
a> t horrible cost to us as well.
> We do not wage aggressive war without debasing our
ow> n morality and eviscerating our own civil liberties. We degrade our
own
dem> ocracy as we attempt to export this flower which must be
home-grown. And
no> exit strategy exists. We will be there for decades as the new colonial
imp> erialists.
> Beware the karma that will surely follow.
> _________
>
> Ed Firmage is professor of law, and Samuel D. Turman
P> rofessor of Law, Emeritus, at the University of Utah College of Law. He
is
> the author, with Francis Wormuth, of To Chain the Dog of War: the War
Power> of Congress in History and Law.
>
>
>
>
>
>
> © Copyright 2003, The Salt Lake Tribune.
> All material found on Utah OnLine is copyrighted The
Salt> Lake Tribune and associated news services. No material may be
reproduced
o> r reused without explicit permission from The Salt Lake Tribune.
>
>
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