Sen. Tim Kaine: Congress needs to show some courage, follow the Constitution and vote on war with Iran

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If we go to war with Iran, American men and women will likely be killed or injured. Some will see their friends killed and injured. Some will spend the rest of their lives afflicted with physical ailments or post-traumatic stress disorder, and their families and friends will bear their own scars as they mourn the killed and try to help veterans readjust.

If our troops and their families are willing to display such courage in service to our nation, then every member of Congress should, at the very least, have the courage to vote and be accountable for the question of whether another war in the Middle East is a good idea.

The Framers shared this belief, unambiguously giving Congress, not the president, the power to declare war in our Constitution. This was unusual when the Constitution was written in 1787. Up until that time, war-waging had been the prerogative of executives throughout history—the king, the sultan, the pope—not legislatures.

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In 1798, James Madison explained this change in a letter to Thomas Jefferson, writing, “The Constitution supposes, what the history of all governments demonstrates, that the Executive is the branch of power most interested in war, and most prone to it. It has accordingly with studied care vested the question of war to the Legislature.”

Every member of Congress should have the courage to vote and be accountable for the question of whether another war in the Middle East is a good idea.

Why did the Framers go against centuries of history and give Congress the power to wage war? Because they understood the toll war takes on people.

Now, the United States has been at war for nearly two decades. Our youngest men and women in uniform have spent their entire lives with their country at war. Some of them have been deployed over and over again to the Middle East.

Think of the troops who were home for the holidays enjoying time with their families when they received the news this month that they have to deploy again.

The Constitution grants Congress the power to declare war because we are these servicemembers’ representatives.

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In granting us the power of determining whether to send them into war, the Constitution asks us to make a value judgment: whether a military mission is worth risking these men and women’s lives and health. How dare we let them go into harm’s way if we’re not willing to make that value judgment on behalf of the nation?

With that constitutional duty in mind, I filed a resolution in the Senate last week that enforces the constitutional principle that any hostilities with Iran be explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or specific congressional authorization for use of military force.

Let me be clear: This would not prevent the United States from defending itself from imminent attack, nor would it prevent us from authorizing military action against Iran. It would merely require that war against Iran cannot occur until there are a public debate and congressional vote in favor of it. We owe it to our troops to have that debate.

“I do not believe that this president or any president has the ability, without congressional approval, to initiate military action in Iraq or anywhere else, except in the case of an emergency posing an imminent threat to the U.S. or its citizens.”

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I said these words when Barack Obama was president, and I stand by them now that Donald Trump is president.

People will disagree on whether war with Iran is a good idea. While I believe the U.S. should not go to war against Iran and that another war in the Middle East would be a catastrophic mistake, if Congress decides that war is in the public interest, I’ll accept that. But, when we ask our troops to risk everything, we in Congress cannot hide under our desks, outsource our constitutional duty to the president, and pretend that we can avoid accountability for war and its consequences.