bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Agence France-Presse

The US drone strike that killed top Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani has revived debate about whether American presidents have unilateral authority to launch attacks and send soldiers into battle, or must await congressional approval.
War powers are divided in the US Constitution, and not in a definitive way, experts say, leading to a decades-long tug of war between the White House and Congress over who has final say on military action.
Iran’s options for revenge on Trump aren’t limited to its military
US President Donald Trump ordered the attack that killed Soleimani in Baghdad, Iraq last week, and his administration has claimed it was an “absolutely legal operation”.
Democratic lawmakers have questioned its legality and warned Trump does not have authority to march the United States into a war with Iran.
Here is a look at where US war powers reside.

Pentagon rejects Trump threat to strike Iran’s cultural sites, and likely commit a war crime
War Powers Resolution
Article 1 of the Constitution limits a president’s authority to use force without a congressional declaration of war. But since World War II commanders in chief have assumed broader authority to send US troops into hostilities – often actions short of war – without Congress consenting.
The controversial War Powers Resolution (WPR) was enacted in 1973 over the veto of Richard Nixon as a way for Congress to claw back its authority, following a massive, undeclared war in Vietnam.
It states that “the president in every possible instance shall consult with Congress before introducing United States armed force into hostilities”, and forbids troops from remaining for more than 90 days without a congressional authorisation for use of military force (AUMF).
The WPR has proved a weak constraint on presidential power, with every White House since arguing it unconstitutionally shackles a commander in chief in the performance of their duty.
“It’s time for Congress to take back that responsibility,” Senator Kirsten Gillibrand tweeted Monday.


Iranian official tweets link listing Trump’s properties after US president threatens attacks on cultural sites
Dominant executive authority
Presidents for decades have claimed authority to use military force to defend US personnel and respond to or prevent attacks.
Months after the 9/11 attacks in 2001, George W. Bush received broad authority for the use of military force in Iraq, an AUMF that each subsequent president has cited in launching attacks in the Middle East, including in Syria.
Barack Obama was criticised in 2011 for not seeking congressional authorisation to launch strikes in Libya against that country’s forces and government. He claimed he was acting to prevent a humanitarian disaster.
Trump had the legal obligation under the War Powers Resolution to notify Congress within 48 hours of the Soleimani missile strike, and he did so Saturday in classified form.
National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien said Trump was “fully authorised” by the 2002 AUMF, something many Democrats fiercely reject.
But the administration has also signalled it is aware of limitations.
Last year, when asked by lawmakers whether the AUMF gave Trump authority to attack Iran, then defence secretary nominee Mark Esper, now the Pentagon chief, cautioned: “Not to conduct a war”.

Next steps
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced her chamber will vote this week on a new war powers resolution to curb Trump’s military actions.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said he would oppose restricting Trump’s “latitude” to conduct foreign policy.
“The last thing America needs is 535 Commanders in Chief,” Graham said, referring to the number of US lawmakers.
Congress took a huge step toward such restrictions last April when it passed a measure ending US involvement in the Yemen war. But Trump vetoed the legislation.
Harvard Law School professor Jack Goldsmith wrote in Lawfare blog Friday that “presidential aggrandisement” and congressional acquiescence has led to a president’s enormous discretion to use the military “in ways that can easily lead to a massive war”.
“That is our system,” he added. “One person decides.”
Additional reporting by Associated Press


In a world of tariff threats, China opts to share green tech dividends

Trump picks loyalist Kash Patel to head FBI

Trump taps Charles Kushner, his son-in-law’s father, as envoy to France

‘Walking on eggshells’: Europe is getting squeezed from all sides as Trump 2.0 looms

Donald Trump

What war powers does Donald Trump have?

US President Donald Trump’s confrontation with Iran is brazenly testing whether the House and Senate will exert their own authority over US military strategy or cede more war powers to the White House. File photo: AFP

(FILES) In this file photo taken on August 27, 2017, a US Marine watches Afghan Commandos take part in a combat training exercise at Shorab Military Camp in Lashkar Gah in Helmand province. - The Trump administration will announce as early as this week plans to withdraw around 4,000 troops from Afghanistan, US media reported. Talks between the United States and the Taliban resumed a week ago as the parties sought a path to reduce violence or even reach a ceasefire. They were paused by Washington on December 12, 2019, however, after an attack by the militant group near a key US air base north of Kabul that left two civilians dead and dozens injured.There are 13,000 US troops currently in Afghanistan. NBC on December 14, 2019 cited three current and former US officials as saying the Trump administration intends to announce the drawdown of 4,000 troops from Afghanistan (Photo by WAKIL KOHSAR / AFP)

(FILES)This file combination of pictures created on September 24, 2019 shows US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California, on September 24, 2019 and US President Donald Trump in Washington, DC, September 20, 2019. - US lawmakers will vote in coming days on a war powers resolution aimed at putting a check on President Donald Trump's military actions after he ordered the killing of top Iranian general, a senior Democrat said. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the plan to introduce and vote on the resolution "to limit the president's military actions regarding Iran," in a letter to colleagues late January 5, 2020. (Photos by Mandel NGAN and SAUL LOEB / AFP)

Iranian official tweets link listing Trump’s properties after US president threatens attacks on cultural sites

A view of Trump Tower in New York in September 2019. Photo: AFP

A handout picture provided by the office of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei  shows Zeinab Soleimani, daughter of slain Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani speaking during his funeral procession at Tehran University in the Iranian capital on January 6, 2020. - Mourners packed the streets of Tehran for ceremonies to pay homage to Soleimani, who spearheaded Iran's Middle East operations as commander of the Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force and was killed in a US drone strike on January 3 near Baghdad airport. (Photo by - / various sources / AFP) / === RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / HO / IRANIAN SUPREME LEADER'S WEBSITE" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS ===

An image grab from an Iran Press video shows Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (L) weeping as he recites a prayer in front of the coffin of slain Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani duing a funeral procession in the capital Tehran on January 6, 2020. (Photo by - / IRAN PRESS / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT - AFP PHOTO / HO / IRAN PRESS" NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS FROM ALTERNATIVE SOURCES, AFP IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DIGITAL ALTERATIONS TO THE PICTURE'S EDITORIAL CONTENT, DATE AND LOCATION WHICH CANNOT BE INDEPENDENTLY VERIFIED  - NO RESALE - NO ACCESS ISRAEL MEDIA/PERSIAN LANGUAGE TV STATIONS/ OUTSIDE IRAN/ STRICTLY NI ACCESS BBC PERSIAN/ VOA PERSIAN/ MANOTO-1 TV/ IRAN INTERNATIONAL /

People attend a funeral procession for Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani, head of the elite Quds Force, and Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who were killed in an air strike at Baghdad airport, in Tehran, Iran January 6, 2020. Official Khamenei website/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES     TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

FILE - In this Feb. 19, 2017 file photo a vehicle stops at the gate of the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Fla., Police say they are investigating an incident Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2019 at President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago club. They did not immediately say what happened or why it prompted an investigation.(AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

Pentagon rejects Trump threat to strike Iran’s cultural sites, and likely commit a war crime

A guided missile destroyer fires Tomahawk cruise missiles in support of Operation Odyssey Dawn in the Mediterranean Sea in 2011. US President Donald Trump’s threat to retaliate against Iranian cultural sites has drawn widespread condemnation. File photo: Reuters

People attend a funeral procession for Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani, head of the elite Quds Force, and Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who were killed in an air strike at Baghdad airport, in Tehran, Iran January 6, 2020. Official Khamenei website/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY SIAVOSH GHAZI Chinese tourists from Hong Kong visit the "Gate of All Nations" at the ancient Persian city of Persepolis near Shiraz in southern Iran on September 26, 2014. At the foot of Persepolis, the giant sun-dried brick ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid and first Persian empire, foreign tourists pour out of buses and gaze in wonder. AFP PHOTO/BEHROUZ MEHRI (Photo by BEHROUZ MEHRI / AFP)

US President Donald Trump’s threat to retaliate against Iranian cultural sites has drawn widespread condemnation. File photo: AP

News

World

United States & Canada


Speaker Nancy Pelosi will hold House votes this week to limit Donald Trump’s ability to engage Iran militarily
Yet Congress has shown time and again it is unable to exert its ability to authorise – or halt – the use of military force



Democratic lawmakers have questioned the legality of killing top Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani and warned Donald Trump does not have authority to march the United States into a war.


What war powers does Donald Trump have?

Speaker Nancy Pelosi will hold House votes this week to limit Donald Trump’s ability to engage Iran militarily Yet Congress has shown time and again it is unable to exert its ability to authorise – or halt – the use of military force

Speaker Nancy Pelosi will hold House votes this week to limit Donald Trump’s ability to engage Iran militarily

Yet Congress has shown time and again it is unable to exert its ability to authorise – or halt – the use of military force