Role of the president and congress regarding the involvement of the military in wars
As dictated by the United States Constitution, the president is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. This role gives the president power to wage war. To be precise, it is often argued that the president has the power to engage the army in wars, especially in cases whereby the country has been attacked or in cases where an attack is in the offing. On another note, the congress has a role to play on the matter of engaging the military in war and conflicts.
This is because of the primary fact that the Congress have the power to declare war by authorizing hostilities at various levels (Grimmett, 2010). On a similar note, the Congress play a significant role in setting the timelines for which the American troops can withdraw from the wars they are engaged in. Despite this, president has a greater power in determining the engagement of the military in armed wars and conflicts. In fact, this has been the case since the end of World War II.
War powers resolution of 1973
The wars powers resolution refer to legislation passed by the congress in the year 1973. This legislation offer guidelines in the specific situations that may require presidential termination of the involvement of American combats in foreign conflicts within certain periods of time. This legislation give the Congress powers to decide whether American military involvement in specific foreign conflicts should continue or not. Based on a personal, the restrictions in contained in this legislation are realistic based on the primary fact that it allows adequate co-ordination of military involvement in foreign conflicts by both the executive and the legislative arms of government (Grimmett, 2010).
While it is true that the restrictions contained in the above legislation allow for adequate co-ordination of military involvement in the war, it does not address the issue of reducing conflicts. This issue can be resolved by vesting all the powers on the executive branch. However, the congress should provide an oversight on the same. This will limit the un-necessary power wrangles between the executive and legislature regarding the involvement of American combats in war.
Reference
Grimmett, R. (2010). War Power Resolution: After Thirty-Six Years. Boston: DIANE Publishing.
