NP - Obama's Smart Move

[David Morris]

The law of the land you refer to has long been deeply discounted.  And I
blame Congress, not the Executive, for that.  If Congress alone has the
power to start a war, it should have claimed that right by action long ago.

On Sunday, September 1, 2013, Ian Livingston wrote:

> Yes, I think it was very smart of him to obey the law in this case. Maybe
> it can be  step toward getting the executive branch back into trim.
>
>
> On Sun, Sep 1, 2013 at 5:45 AM, David Morris <fqmorris at gmail.com<javascript:_e({}, 'cvml', 'fqmorris at gmail.com');>
> > wrote:
>
>> Juan Cole:
>>
>> So by Friday, Obama had painted himself into a box with repeated
>> statements that he had to attack Syria because of the gas attack. But as he
>> looked behind him, the troops he was leading had thinned out faster than
>> Custer’s at the Little Bighorn.
>>
>> With regard to domestic politics, Obama would be pilloried on Capitol
>> Hill if he backed down as his international support (and elements of his
>> case) collapsed. If he went forward with a unilateral strike, he would be
>> alone and exposed, and risk extreme reputational damage if the operation
>> went bad. (What if a cruise missile went astray and hit a village, killing
>> women and children? What if the missile strikes riled up radical Shiites in
>> Iraq and US facilities in that country were attacked).
>>
>> Obama made a clever political calculation. The Tea Party and the GOP in
>> general had been demanding that he submit the Syria file to them. So he
>> obliged them. If they say ‘no,’ as the British parliament did, then Obama
>> is off the hook. If they say ‘yes,’ then they are full partners in any
>> failures that result. Either way, the issue is taken off the agenda of the
>> 2016 election and Democrats are held harmless.
>>
>> http://www.juancole.com/2013/09/congress-international-collapses.html
>>
>> On Sunday, September 1, 2013, David Morris wrote:
>>
>>> Remember the 60-year history of the post-WW II imperial presidency, in
>>> which all wars are police actions and can be initiated by presidential fiat?
>>>
>>> That horse left the barn long ago...
>>>
>>> On Saturday, August 31, 2013, Rich Clavey wrote:
>>>
>>>> Yeah but he still sez he has the right to do it on his own.
>>>>
>>>
>
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