War Reaction Paper

Submitted By rgallego77
Words: 345
Pages: 2

Reaction Paper #3 9/26/11

Over the past couple of centuries, the wars that the United States have been involved in, or debated about being involved in, has arisen much debate as to how the wars are decided, and by whom. Articles National War Powers Commission Report by the Miller Center of Public Affairs and When Congress Stops Wars by William Howell & Jon Pevehouse have attacked the war debate and the involvement that congress and the executive branch play in deciding whether to go to war, under what conditions, and how to do so. The Miller Center tackles whether the power should stand with congress or whether it should be granted to the President. Howell & Pevehouse’s article debates whether congress’s course of action has been absent from foreign and national security policy, allowing the executive to dominate. However, after analyzing both articles, one can understand the severe importance it holds to ensure the participation of both branches. When deciding and executing a war, the executive and legislative branches are critically involved no matter what provisions are in place at the time. For example, in the first article, power for war declaration is hazy on whether it falls on the president or congress, yet, even when the President has more dominant power, congress has means to interfere by cutting spending and/or impeaching the president for practices it is not in agreement with. Similarly, in the