I can think of no clearer act than this, to illustrate that George W. Bush is brazenly violating the principles of the Constitution of the United States. In my opinion, this ranks right up there with suspension of habeas corpus; it might even be worse.
It appears that George W. Bush wants to single-handedly usurp Congress' power of the purse, power to approve treaties or Congressional-executive agreements, and our nation's sovereign authority over our own military men and women.
No, I'm not kidding.
In a published (leaked overseas from Asharq Al-Awsat) full draft, Bush plans to create a joint agreement with Iraq. It will not be a treaty, requiring the consent of two-thirds of the Senate, or a congressional-executive agreement, requiring the approval of both houses of Congress. Instead, the President asserts the power, as commander in chief, to commit the nation to his deal with Iraq without seeking the consent of the legislative branch.
Moreover, the agreement would create a joint Iraq-US committee with the authority to coordinate military operations and operations. War by committee, essentially, which delegates away his commander-in-chief authority.
But worst of all, the agreement would act in violation of the checks and balances that Congress provides, in terms of committing funds. Congress has power of the purse, not the executive branch; it is one of the final checks on executive power, designed to protect the US against installing a king or dictator in the executive branch.
The agreement "obligates the United States to pay for the construction and modification of military installations that will revert to Iraqi ownership when our troops leave. This is an open-ended commitment that goes beyond the funds already appropriated by Congress."
You can read more here:
http://news.yahoo.com/...
Please write your Congressman about this pending agreement. It's never been clearer; Congress needs to repeal the authorization for use of military force from the current commander-in-chief, who is overstepping his authority solely on that basis. It is clear that he is acting against the will of the people and violating the most basic principles of the Constitution - which he swore to uphold and protect.
You can easily email your Representative and Senators at:
http://www.ngaus.org/...
And please spread the word! The more people who know about this, the better.