A couple of interesting things going on:
1. There seem to be a not-small group of people in our Intelligence services and armed forces, who disagree with the Pentagon/White House agenda. Saddam Hussain watches CNN, and so do his generals. Wonder what they think, when they hear American decision-makers taking pot shots at each other very publicly.
2. We've got out of the habit of officially declaring wars. Now, it seems, Congress isn't even going to be told what's going on. The people who wrote the Constitution explicitly said it was Congress, not the President, who decided whether we go to war. They wanted to ensure any war had a broad base of support, and war couldn't be declared by one man. They knew this meant a public debate, and delay, and spreading information (the information needed to make an informed decision) beyond the White House and military. That's the way they wanted it. But, the way we've done it since WW2, it's the President's war. Yes, Congress could stop the President, but in practice, Congress lets the President make the decision, and take responsibility. Without responsibility, Congress can snipe from the sidelines, and pretend later that they were against the war all along, if things go bad. |
