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Public Opinion & the Declaration of War
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Looks at the role of public opinion, the president, & congress in the declaration of war. Discussion centers on the Gulf War & the military action in Bosnia.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Looks at the role of public opinion, the president, & congress in the declaration of war. Discussion centers on the Gulf War & the military action in Bosnia.
Paper Introduction:
The decision to go to war is a difficult one for any President. The question faced is whether that decision is made entirely on the basis of a perceived military need and to what degree public opinion influences the decision. The matter has been raised recently with reference to Bosnia-Herzegovina as it seems that the administration may be holding back from doing something to help the Serbs while ascertaining the trend in public opinion. It is likely that politicians have always been concerned with how the public would react to a declaration of war, but that does not mean that Presidents have always tried to determine that reaction beforehand as a way of deciding whether or not to declare war. In an age in which polling has become a science and an on-going process for news organizations, candidates, and government
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The President could also respond defensively to "repel suddenattacks," and this was the only exception to the proposition that he wasnot to take up arms without advance congressional authorization. The Gulf and the War Powers Act. One reason for avoidingsuch conflicts has been fear of a public backlash, as many believe happenedwhen the Vietnam war dragged on for year after year, with no end in sight. In addition, Bush needed theUnited Nations and the Arab nations behind him, and if he were fighting forAmerican oil interests or emphasizing those interests as the primary reasonfor the war, he would lose that support. influence. The forces may remain nolonger than 9 days unless Congress approves the President's action.Congress has triggered the law only once, in 1983, when President RonaldReagan sent troops to Lebanon, but still every President since the law'spassage has called it unconstitutional and demanded that it be repealed(Bratman, 1991, 13). 14) The concern with public opinion both before and after a declarationof war has heightened as a consequence of the Vietnam War, perceived as apublic relations disaster and as a war lost because of growing publicdissatisfaction at home. What will this war mean? Monthly Review, pp. While itwas acknowledged that environmental economic issues were involved at theend of the war, it was not always acknowledged that they were essential inbringing about the American response in the first place. However, Amincounters that this is not indicated by the reality of the conflict: Quite to the contrary, the Gulf War will necessarily heighten the injustices that are the foundation of all world orders, new and old. He cites severalreasons for this, including the fact that the Republicans are actuallyright and that the law does state what they say it states. (Kinsley, 1993, p. Thereason for this is the fear that Congress would not have time to respond insuch case. to involve us in such distress. When the framers of the Constitutionmet in 1787, they realized that broad-based public support would be neededto conduct any war. 22-23.Kinsley, M. The decision to go to war is a difficult one for any President. 6) This may sound like a cynical appeal to the survival instinct of thepolitician, but it also points to a reason for public involvement beyondthat--the people are ultimately responsible for what their electedofficials do and should be consulted, should participate, and should maketheir views known. 482)The stated reasons for the Gulf War were intended to enlist support and tofire up the troops (including the public) to do the job on the basis ofhumanitarianism. In M.L. President Bushpromoted the war as a necessary action to curb Iraqi aggression and toprotect the integrity of Kuwait, but this underplayed the real role of theKuwaiti oil fields and the American need for a continuation of delivery ofthat oil. 14-2 .Bratman, F. The objective, it was said, wouldlead to a new world order based on law and justice, bringing about at lastthe end of the East-West conflict and leading to a new age. The matter has been raised recently with reference to Bosnia-Herzegovina as it seems that the administration may be holding back fromdoing something to help the Serbs while ascertaining the trend in publicopinion. The decision as to whether or not to wage war is now governed by theWar Powers Resolution. (1991, February 8). Thus a final consideration: for President Clinton, restoring Congress's war power would be good, self-interested politics. War powers. A. (1991). JamesWilson, one of the drafters of the Constitution, explained this decision bystating: This system will not hurry us into war; it is calculated to guard against it. (1993, November 8). BibliographyAmin, S. Oil was clearly an importantconsideration, but in addition to the economic concerns, there was also apolitical concern which could not be ignored in the simple desire tobolster U.S. ThePersian Gulf War is an example. In an age in which polling hasbecome a science and an on-going process for news organizations,candidates, and government agencies, and since leaders know that they cantake the pulse of the public, they usually will do so. It is certain that the principal Western powers will not reconstruct the world so that it is more just, but on the contrary will reaffirm an order than . Clearly, an appeal to publicopinion slows them down even more. (1991, July-August). But let no one claim that the president sneaked America into war without the people's knowledge or against their will (or, on the other hand, that he cravenly failed to act when American security or compassion required it). The war produced an environmental nightmare as the Iraqiforces tried to destroy the Kuwaiti oil fields by setting them on fire andby spilling some of the oil reserves into the waters of the Gulf. . The Framers intended that the power to declare war would be vestedin the legislature and that this would refer to all wars. 6. However, many scholars contendthat the Constitution, the highest law of the land, gives thatresponsibility solely to Congress. Americans might have been just as willing to fight over theissue of oil, but it was not so certain. 6)His fourth reason relates to the need for a public consensus and for publicinvolvement: A congressional debate and vote would force the American people, as well, to reach a decision and live with the consequences. Theauthors write: Whatever else the Bush administration is doing in the Gulf, it seems to be staking out a place for an economically declining United States vis-à-vis the economically ascendant but largely demilitarized European Community and Japan. It will not be in the power of a single man . 22). Congress today can be convened more rapidly than it could inthe late 18th century when the Constitution was framed, but the need forswift military response may have become even more important. As Ely argues, nothing in 2 years has made this requirement impractical or obsolete. Once a warwas declared, though, the Founders wanted the President as Commander inChief to assume ultimate strategic control of the way in which it would befought. The war was for the protection ofArab sovereignty, not for the protection of American oil interests. The issue of the importance of public support is played out against along-standing conflict between the executive and the legislative branchesover who has the power to declare war. President Bush used his ability to garner public support for hisaction in attacking Iraq to force Congress to give support as well. A congressional debate and vote would give him that cover. War and powers. Presidentshave claimed that they, as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, have theauthority to commit troops to war, and Congress has usually gone along withthe presidential decision to use force. The decision to go to warultimately belongs to Congress, and thus the President, having responded towhat he takes to have been the emergency, is obligated under theConstitution to report to Congress what he has done as soon as possible andto await its decision whether to continue military activity. Whose war is it, anyway? It is likely that politicians have always been concerned with howthe public would react to a declaration of war, but that does not mean thatPresidents have always tried to determine that reaction beforehand as a wayof deciding whether or not to declare war. This is not a new argument and hassurfaced repeatedly since the country was founded. Thequestion faced is whether that decision is made entirely on the basis of aperceived military need and to what degree public opinion influences thedecision. The U.S. How important isthis process in making the decision about the use of military force? Amin (1991) notes that the Gulf War as presented in and to theWestern media had but one objective--enforcing the rule of law and underthat banner the liberation of Kuwait. Sifry & C. It is clear that a public opinion poll is not alwaysfeasible in making these decisions, but it is also clear that an awarenessof the public view is important in the conduct of something so vital aswar. That's the fourth reason. George Bush declared that the war was intended todefend and consolidate the new world order, and Darnovsky, Kauffman, andRobinson (1991) note that this new world order is not one framed in termsof the interests of Africans, Latin Americans, or the ordinary people ofthe Middle East but that it is rather served up as a contest to determinethe balance of power in the post-Cold War world, a contest among theadvanced capitalist countries that supposedly won the Cold War. Inthe recent Persian Gulf War, the administration worked to shape publicopinion and to garner support for its policies. & Robinson, B. power. forces are sentinto a hostile area without a declaration of war. (Kinsley, 1993, p. Many U.S. Why on earth should Clinton even want the ability to commit American soldiers abroad without protective cover--for himself, as well as for them? Cerf. Therefore, any President who feels it necessaryto engage in war also feels it necessary to shape the story and to garnerall the support possible. Operation Desert Storm wasviewed as one of the signal successes of the Bush Administration, in partbecause of this effort to shape the way the story was told. Whatwas most important was that the war be successful and that it not be a U.S.-against-the-Arab world issue. He also citesJohn Hart Ely to the effect that this is what the Constitution has alwaysrequired: The framers clearly intended to require prior congressional approval for all military engagements, "declared" or undeclared, except for responses to genuine emergencies like surprise attacks. (Amin, 1991, p. . The War Powers Act was passed in 1973. There is no doubt that public opinion becomes extremely importantafter a war has been declared, and Presidents know this from the start. The New Republic, p. . 12-13.Darnovsky, M., Kauffman, L. They also anticipated that there would be times whenthe United States would have to act quickly and that Congress might taketoo long to come to a decision. New York: Random House.Ely, John Hart. (Darnovsky, Kauffman, & Robinson, 1991, p. The Gulf War reader. Michael Kinsley noted recently that theRepublicans in Congress have been demanding that the President heed the WarPowers Act with reference to any possible military action in Haiti and seekCongressional approval for any action. A battle for the lives ofthe people of Kuwait was seen as something important and worthy of Americaninterest. Theneed faced by the executive to garner public support leads to somedeception as the stated reasons for a military action may be such as toengender support, while the real reasons are hidden or obscured becausethey would not have that effect, or might not have that effect. The underlying economic and political agenda was butgenerally underplayed. The New Republic, pp. . While noting as well that this isdisingenuous because when Bush was President these same Republicans foughtback at any such attempt by the Democrats, Kinsley also says Clinton shoulddo what they want and then make his case before Congress. Scholastic Update, pp. (Bratman, 1991, p. When Bush declares that this war will not be another Vietnam, he is pointing in part to the decade-long attempt to reassert U.S. (1988, May 23). has shied away from a number ofconflicts--notably in Central America and in Bosnia--from fear of anotherVietnam, a conflict entered on a temporary basis that drags on and draws inmore and more troops and a greater commitment. While itmight be true that we should preserve for the President permission to actwhen there is no time for Congress to do so, we should also recognize thatthe underlying principle is not obsolete. The war hadits critics, but in general it was seen as (and touted as by the BushAdministration) a necessary action, a well-coordinated military operation,and an instance of American success after many years of failures, or atbest inaction. The executivewas not to be trusted alone with such an important decision. Let people sort out their own emotions about televised scenes of starving babies one day and mutilated American corpses the next. The Founding Fathers overwhelmingly agreedthat Congress should be given the power to actually declare war. The real stakes in the Gulf War. It forcesthe President to notify Congress within 48 hours if U.S. 12) The involvement of the legislature in the decision-making processbefore a war could be declared is an attempt to involve public opinion aseach legislator is thought to represent a consensus from his or herdistrict and to be closer to the people in this sense than the executivecan be. has constantly violated the rights of the peoples of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The issue of the War Powers Act and the underlying rationale for ithave surfaced again in recent weeks over discussions as to whether theUnited States should become involved in the war in Bosnia, and it isevident that President Clinton is also much concerned about how any foreignpolicy action would be perceived by the public. Congress inturn is under a correlative constitutional duty to consider whether thenation is to be committed to war or not. Of course, one reason forallowing the President certain latitude in such matters has been the beliefthat an appeal to Congress slows things down. In the event no affirmativeauthorization is forthcoming hostilities are to be terminated (Ely, 1988,p. President Bush needed to get the people to standbehind him as he waged war in the Gulf, and he used the words that wouldmobilize the people and help him win the war. Let them call in to radio shows and write their members of Congress.
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