President Obama’s War Powers Letter to Congress on Iraq
Here is the letter. Two points of note.
First, the President makes clear that he is authorizing military force in Iraq “pursuant to my constitutional authority to conduct U.S. foreign relations and as Commander in Chief and Chief Executive.” This is a standard formulation in this context for inherent Article II power.
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Here is the letter. Two points of note.
First, the President makes clear that he is authorizing military force in Iraq “pursuant to my constitutional authority to conduct U.S. foreign relations and as Commander in Chief and Chief Executive.” This is a standard formulation in this context for inherent Article II power. The President is not relying on any congressional authorization.
Second, the President states that the military operations he authorized “will be limited in their scope and duration as necessary to protect American personnel in Iraq by stopping the current advance on Erbil by the terrorist group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and to help forces in Iraq as they fight to break the siege of Mount Sinjar and protect the civilians trapped there.”
Jack Goldsmith is the Learned Hand Professor at Harvard Law School, co-founder of Lawfare, and a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Before coming to Harvard, Professor Goldsmith served as Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel from 2003-2004, and Special Counsel to the Department of Defense from 2002-2003.
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