Resolute Trump. Will the US president hit Iran without Congress approval?
The confrontation between the USA and Iran goes further and further. 24 June, US President Donald Trump said that he has enough authority to start a war against Iran without the approval of the US Congress. This statement was made by the American president in an interview with Hill, answering the question whether he has sufficient authority to start hostilities without permission from congressmen.
Relations between the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran have never been cloudless. From the very beginning of its existence, Iran has defined the United States as the “Great Satan” and has not changed this wording in relation to one of the largest world powers anymore. The United States, in turn, made great efforts to overthrow the Iranian theocratic regime. But this has not been possible so far - unlike the countries of the Arab East, the ayatollahs in Iran hold power firmly, and the army and the people are mostly loyal to them. You can not count on the separatist movements of national minorities such as Kurds or Baluchis, because they are too weak against the background of the Iranian army. Therefore, Washington set a course for the transformation of Iran into a rogue state, and this course has long been followed.
The USA repeatedly imposed sanctions against Iran, however, especially relations between the countries became aggravated in 2018-2019. One of the main reasons for the deterioration of relations is the general situation in the Middle East, including the situation in Syria and Yemen, where Iran and the forces supported by it play a very important role. Iran is the main regional opponent of the two closest allies of the United States in the Middle East - Saudi Arabia and Israel. If Iran has an ideological conflict with Saudi Arabia on the ground of confrontation between the Salafi version of Sunnism and Iranian Shiism, then Israelis in Iran are simply threatened with being thrown into the sea, freeing Palestine for the Arab population.
Washington imposed extremely harsh sanctions against all key areas of the Iranian economy. In this case, the course was taken to further increase the pressure of sanctions. In addition to Iran, the United States began to put pressure on all other countries of the world, trying to force them to stop buying Iranian oil and thereby deprive the Iranian government of the proceeds from its sale. As a result, Washington still managed, using ingenious levers of pressure, to push through its position. Almost all oil buyers refused to order it from Iran.
In addition, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was declared a terrorist organization with all the ensuing consequences. True, in Tehran they did not linger in response, declaring the Central Command of the US Armed Forces a terrorist organization, and the United States itself was "the state sponsor of terrorism."
A new phase of aggravation of relations between Iran and the United States opened a mysterious incident with oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman. On the morning of June 13, two oil tankers were attacked in Iranian waters of the Gulf of Oman.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo immediately, without any results of the investigation, accused Iran of what happened. Allegedly about the involvement of the Iranian secret services in the incident indicate some data of American intelligence. After the events in the Gulf of Oman, the United States sent another squadron with cruise missiles towards the region.
On June 20, the world media spread the news that the Iranian Air Force shot down a US drone that violated the country's airspace. Representatives of the US military immediately replied that the drone was shot down in international space over the Gulf of Hormuz. However, the commander of the Iranian Navy, Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi, said that Iran would continue to shoot down American Drones in case of violation of the air borders of the country.
After stories with a downed drone, the American leadership began a real tantrum. First, President Donald Trump called the drone incident a very big mistake for Iran. Then Trump somewhat changed his mind and stressed that he did not believe in the deliberate nature of the actions of the Iranian military, committing the error that had occurred. And finally, Donald Trump "confessed" that he was supposedly going to give an order on a missile attack on Iranian military targets. But then Trump changed his mind at the very last moment, while allegedly not canceling his order to strike, but only suspending him.
Then, in order to revenge for the downed drone, new tough sanctions were imposed against a number of high-ranking Iranian military leaders. This time sanctions were imposed against three generals.
The first among them is General Amir Ali Hajizade, commander of the Air Force of the Revolutionary Guards. This general was known for his anti-American statements long ago, and at the Pentagon they believe that it was he who gave the order to knock down the drone.
The second is Rear Admiral Ali Reza Tangsiri, Commander of the XIIR Navy, who in February threatened the United States to block the Gulf of Hormuz with Iranian forces. fleet.
The third on the list is the commander of the land forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, General Mohammad Pakpur, whom the United States is accusing of directing the IRGC units fighting in Syria.
Sanctions, according to Washington, are designed to prevent Iranian military leaders from using the financial capabilities of US banks.
Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi is currently one of the most striking and uncompromising opponents of Donald Trump, constantly criticizing the actions of the American president.
Nancy Pelosi can rightfully be called a veteran of American politics. She is already 79 years old, since 1987, more than thirty years old, she is a member of the US House of Representatives, and takes the post of speaker for the second time - the first time Nancy Pelosi was the speaker from 2007 to 2011.
Nancy represents the US Democratic Party, so it is natural that she is in tough opposition to Trump and sometimes allows very harsh comments to the President. So, not so long ago, Pelosi said she did not want to impeach Trump, but to see Trump in prison, in other words, hinting that the current US president deserves criminal prosecution for his actions.
Nancy Palosi was noted for her statements on Iran. So, the speaker called for a verified and reasonable response to the actions of Iran.
- emphasized Peloshi.
Nancy Palosi herself also noted that Donald Trump cannot use force without notifying the US Congress. She also noted that no one informed her that Trump was going to launch a missile attack on Iran, and this is unacceptable, since the president must get approval from congressmen and senators for such actions.
At the moment, as Peloshi noted, Donald Trump does not have permission from the US Congress to begin hostilities against Iran. In other words, if Trump nevertheless takes a missile attack on Iran without waiting for the approval of Congress, he will break the law with all the ensuing consequences. However, Donald Trump himself, as we see, says quite the opposite.
The rights of the president, including as supreme commander of the United States Armed Forces, are determined by the famous Second Article of the Constitution of the United States of America. In its part 2 in paragraph 1, it is emphasized that the president of the United States is the supreme commander of the army. However, it also clearly states that “the right to declare war belongs exclusively to Congress.” Thus, it is the US Congress that is the political institution and government body of the United States that determines who and when the country declares war.
But the president, according to the same clause of the US Constitution, as soon as war is declared, determines the strategy and tactics of military operations, being the supreme commander. And here it is not necessary for him to consult with congressmen.
In addition, in 1973, the Resolution on military authority 1973 was adopted. It was quite clearly spelled out and delimited the competence of the US Congress and the head of state on the issue of the start of hostilities. The President of the United States was given the right, on his own initiative, to direct the American armed forces to take part in hostilities if these actions are “inevitable”, but prior consultations (not approval!) With the US Congress were still envisaged.
Nancy Pelosi appeals to the Second Article of the US Constitution and seems to be saying everything correctly, however, he understands this rule literally. In fact, even the basic law of the United States contains impressive reservations, allowing in many cases to use the US military and begin military action without prior permission from the US Congress. In particular, the president, without the consent of the US Congress, can use the army to defend against surprise attacks. And this point should pay more attention.
The president of the United States may well regard the incident with the downed American drone as a surprise attack from Iran. Accordingly, he does not need the approval of the US Congress to retaliate against Iran. And in this, Donald Trump is absolutely right when he speaks about having such powers.
By the way, the last time the US Congress officially declared war on 1941. But America fought the entire second half of the twentieth century, the whole beginning of the XXI century and all over the world - Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Somalia, Yugoslavia, Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, Syria ... Nowhere did the President ask Congress permission.
Secondly, after the 11 tragedy of September 2001, the US Congress itself gave the US president the power to use military force if necessary against states, organizations, individuals associated with planning, directing, assisting terrorists or terrorist organizations. The United States, as is known, has a specific approach to the definition of terrorism. In principle, any armed organization, whose activities or whose views do not fit into the political interests of the United States, can be classified by the American authorities as terrorist.
And here, attention, Trump is right again. 16 April 2019, the United States added Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to the list of international terrorist organizations. In this regard, the actions of the IRGC can be considered as terrorist, especially since it is the IRGC that shot down an American drone. So if Trump had hit the IRGC military targets in Iran, then this would have been regarded only as a preventive strike against the positions of the terrorists. No war! That was the way the United States acted in Sudan when, without a declaration of war, they attacked a pharmaceutical company.
Thus, when Donald Trump spoke about his right to order a missile strike on Iran, he did not deceive: he really has the authority, no matter how opposed the representatives of the US Congress (and personally Nancy Pelosi), trying to seize the president’s initiative ultimately achieve a weakening of his power.
How US relations with Iran escalated
Relations between the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran have never been cloudless. From the very beginning of its existence, Iran has defined the United States as the “Great Satan” and has not changed this wording in relation to one of the largest world powers anymore. The United States, in turn, made great efforts to overthrow the Iranian theocratic regime. But this has not been possible so far - unlike the countries of the Arab East, the ayatollahs in Iran hold power firmly, and the army and the people are mostly loyal to them. You can not count on the separatist movements of national minorities such as Kurds or Baluchis, because they are too weak against the background of the Iranian army. Therefore, Washington set a course for the transformation of Iran into a rogue state, and this course has long been followed.
The USA repeatedly imposed sanctions against Iran, however, especially relations between the countries became aggravated in 2018-2019. One of the main reasons for the deterioration of relations is the general situation in the Middle East, including the situation in Syria and Yemen, where Iran and the forces supported by it play a very important role. Iran is the main regional opponent of the two closest allies of the United States in the Middle East - Saudi Arabia and Israel. If Iran has an ideological conflict with Saudi Arabia on the ground of confrontation between the Salafi version of Sunnism and Iranian Shiism, then Israelis in Iran are simply threatened with being thrown into the sea, freeing Palestine for the Arab population.
Washington imposed extremely harsh sanctions against all key areas of the Iranian economy. In this case, the course was taken to further increase the pressure of sanctions. In addition to Iran, the United States began to put pressure on all other countries of the world, trying to force them to stop buying Iranian oil and thereby deprive the Iranian government of the proceeds from its sale. As a result, Washington still managed, using ingenious levers of pressure, to push through its position. Almost all oil buyers refused to order it from Iran.
In addition, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was declared a terrorist organization with all the ensuing consequences. True, in Tehran they did not linger in response, declaring the Central Command of the US Armed Forces a terrorist organization, and the United States itself was "the state sponsor of terrorism."
Provocation with tankers and downed drone
A new phase of aggravation of relations between Iran and the United States opened a mysterious incident with oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman. On the morning of June 13, two oil tankers were attacked in Iranian waters of the Gulf of Oman.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo immediately, without any results of the investigation, accused Iran of what happened. Allegedly about the involvement of the Iranian secret services in the incident indicate some data of American intelligence. After the events in the Gulf of Oman, the United States sent another squadron with cruise missiles towards the region.
On June 20, the world media spread the news that the Iranian Air Force shot down a US drone that violated the country's airspace. Representatives of the US military immediately replied that the drone was shot down in international space over the Gulf of Hormuz. However, the commander of the Iranian Navy, Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi, said that Iran would continue to shoot down American Drones in case of violation of the air borders of the country.
After stories with a downed drone, the American leadership began a real tantrum. First, President Donald Trump called the drone incident a very big mistake for Iran. Then Trump somewhat changed his mind and stressed that he did not believe in the deliberate nature of the actions of the Iranian military, committing the error that had occurred. And finally, Donald Trump "confessed" that he was supposedly going to give an order on a missile attack on Iranian military targets. But then Trump changed his mind at the very last moment, while allegedly not canceling his order to strike, but only suspending him.
Then, in order to revenge for the downed drone, new tough sanctions were imposed against a number of high-ranking Iranian military leaders. This time sanctions were imposed against three generals.
The first among them is General Amir Ali Hajizade, commander of the Air Force of the Revolutionary Guards. This general was known for his anti-American statements long ago, and at the Pentagon they believe that it was he who gave the order to knock down the drone.
The second is Rear Admiral Ali Reza Tangsiri, Commander of the XIIR Navy, who in February threatened the United States to block the Gulf of Hormuz with Iranian forces. fleet.
The third on the list is the commander of the land forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, General Mohammad Pakpur, whom the United States is accusing of directing the IRGC units fighting in Syria.
Sanctions, according to Washington, are designed to prevent Iranian military leaders from using the financial capabilities of US banks.
Iron Nancy vs Mr. Trump
Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi is currently one of the most striking and uncompromising opponents of Donald Trump, constantly criticizing the actions of the American president.
Nancy Pelosi can rightfully be called a veteran of American politics. She is already 79 years old, since 1987, more than thirty years old, she is a member of the US House of Representatives, and takes the post of speaker for the second time - the first time Nancy Pelosi was the speaker from 2007 to 2011.
Nancy represents the US Democratic Party, so it is natural that she is in tough opposition to Trump and sometimes allows very harsh comments to the President. So, not so long ago, Pelosi said she did not want to impeach Trump, but to see Trump in prison, in other words, hinting that the current US president deserves criminal prosecution for his actions.
Nancy Palosi was noted for her statements on Iran. So, the speaker called for a verified and reasonable response to the actions of Iran.
We have no illusions about the dangerous behavior of the Iranian regime. This is a dangerous, very tense situation that requires a strong, smart and strategic approach,
- emphasized Peloshi.
Nancy Palosi herself also noted that Donald Trump cannot use force without notifying the US Congress. She also noted that no one informed her that Trump was going to launch a missile attack on Iran, and this is unacceptable, since the president must get approval from congressmen and senators for such actions.
At the moment, as Peloshi noted, Donald Trump does not have permission from the US Congress to begin hostilities against Iran. In other words, if Trump nevertheless takes a missile attack on Iran without waiting for the approval of Congress, he will break the law with all the ensuing consequences. However, Donald Trump himself, as we see, says quite the opposite.
What does the US president really have the right to do regarding declaring war?
The rights of the president, including as supreme commander of the United States Armed Forces, are determined by the famous Second Article of the Constitution of the United States of America. In its part 2 in paragraph 1, it is emphasized that the president of the United States is the supreme commander of the army. However, it also clearly states that “the right to declare war belongs exclusively to Congress.” Thus, it is the US Congress that is the political institution and government body of the United States that determines who and when the country declares war.
But the president, according to the same clause of the US Constitution, as soon as war is declared, determines the strategy and tactics of military operations, being the supreme commander. And here it is not necessary for him to consult with congressmen.
In addition, in 1973, the Resolution on military authority 1973 was adopted. It was quite clearly spelled out and delimited the competence of the US Congress and the head of state on the issue of the start of hostilities. The President of the United States was given the right, on his own initiative, to direct the American armed forces to take part in hostilities if these actions are “inevitable”, but prior consultations (not approval!) With the US Congress were still envisaged.
Nancy Pelosi appeals to the Second Article of the US Constitution and seems to be saying everything correctly, however, he understands this rule literally. In fact, even the basic law of the United States contains impressive reservations, allowing in many cases to use the US military and begin military action without prior permission from the US Congress. In particular, the president, without the consent of the US Congress, can use the army to defend against surprise attacks. And this point should pay more attention.
The president of the United States may well regard the incident with the downed American drone as a surprise attack from Iran. Accordingly, he does not need the approval of the US Congress to retaliate against Iran. And in this, Donald Trump is absolutely right when he speaks about having such powers.
By the way, the last time the US Congress officially declared war on 1941. But America fought the entire second half of the twentieth century, the whole beginning of the XXI century and all over the world - Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Somalia, Yugoslavia, Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, Syria ... Nowhere did the President ask Congress permission.
Secondly, after the 11 tragedy of September 2001, the US Congress itself gave the US president the power to use military force if necessary against states, organizations, individuals associated with planning, directing, assisting terrorists or terrorist organizations. The United States, as is known, has a specific approach to the definition of terrorism. In principle, any armed organization, whose activities or whose views do not fit into the political interests of the United States, can be classified by the American authorities as terrorist.
And here, attention, Trump is right again. 16 April 2019, the United States added Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to the list of international terrorist organizations. In this regard, the actions of the IRGC can be considered as terrorist, especially since it is the IRGC that shot down an American drone. So if Trump had hit the IRGC military targets in Iran, then this would have been regarded only as a preventive strike against the positions of the terrorists. No war! That was the way the United States acted in Sudan when, without a declaration of war, they attacked a pharmaceutical company.
Thus, when Donald Trump spoke about his right to order a missile strike on Iran, he did not deceive: he really has the authority, no matter how opposed the representatives of the US Congress (and personally Nancy Pelosi), trying to seize the president’s initiative ultimately achieve a weakening of his power.
Information