Rand Paul Quotes
I think this sets a very bad precedent, the president unilaterally on his own starting war without any consent from Congress
The president did not act purely on his own. The operation in Libya was a NATO operation, not a U. S. operation. All NATO countries unanimously approved the enforcement of the No Fly zone and it was approved by the Security Council of the United Nations, Technically the operation was not war. NATO and the United States was asked to support the no fly zone by the Government of Libya which we and the other countries all recognized at the time. However, since the later part of the 19th century, America has debated exactly who and under what conditions can commit U. S. Troops to hostilities. The prerogatives of Congress in the war powers debate have eroded to the Presidency in the last 2 centuries and some, like Paul feel that the older balance should be restored.
Rand Paul, U. S. Senator (Republican, KY), Statement regarding US participation in enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya, Fox News, March 30, 2011
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
When the Senate was debating the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which would empower the President to take "all necessary measures" to repel any armed attack on U. S. forces, Senator Morse was one of only two Senators opposing the resolution:
to send troops to Cuba The problem in Cuba was not even a crisis for America. But the precedent became the beginning of a huge change in the balance of power between the President and Congress. Together with his huge popularity, Roosevelt could do almost anything and have public support, but the war powers—the authority to send American troops into harm’s way—started their profound shift from requiring the President to ask Congress to declare war and the President acting unilaterally which had become common by the 21st century.
In 1963 there was only one Congressman who expressed misgivings about United States military involvement in Vietnam:
Alberto Gonzalez, White House Counsel and later Attorney General who was forced to resign and David S. Addington, Counsel to the Vice President, had come up with a novel view of the powers of the presidency. They argued that since the President is the Commander in Chief, in a war situation or intelligence gathering thereto, has the Constitutional responsibility for that function, he need not obey any laws of Congress as in the conduct of the war Congress would be impinging on the Constitutional separation of powers which itself was prohibited by the Constitution. The argument did not find any significant legal support but for a while the George W. Bush White House behaved as if this were the law, despite the fact that even in the American Revolution and the War of 1812 Congress passed laws regulating the conduct of the armed forces as is provided for in other parts of the Constitution. Yet even Goldsmith would allow the President some powers that many think are unconstitutional and/or belong to Congress. See {32436}.
Bybee, then and Assistant Attorney General, took the legal position that the President could order the torture of enemy combatants regardless of Congressional laws prohibiting torture. Two years later the memo’s recipient, Alberto Gonzalez, in his confirmation hearings as Attorney General, repudiated the memo, then stating that the President was not above the law and had to obey the laws of Congress that apply to the military.
Randal Howard Paul is an American physician and politician serving as the junior United States Senator from Kentucky since 2011. He is the son of former three-time presidential candidate and twelve-term U.S. Representative of Texas, Ron Paul.
