Declare war on Iran?

It's safe to predict that Congress won't vote to declare war on Iran. It's also safe to predict that Congress won't vote against declaring war on Iran. That decision will be left up to the President in direct contradiction of the Constitution vesting the decision to go to war in Congress. Here's what several of the Founding Fathers said about this central Constitutional issue:

James Madison: ". . . The power to declare war, including the power of judging the causes of war, is fully and exclusively vested in the legislature . . . the executive has no right, in any case, to decide the question, whether there is or is not cause for declaring war." (1793.) "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." (Letter to Jefferson, c. 1798.)

Alexander Hamilton: 'The Congress shall have the power to declare war'; the plain meaning of which is, that it is the peculiar and exclusive duty of Congress, when the nation is at peace, to change that state into a state of war. . . ." (c. 1801).

George Washington: "The constitution vests the power of declaring war in Congress; therefore no offensive expedition of importance can be undertaken until after they shall have deliberated upon the subject and authorized such a measure." (1793.)

But, we all know George Washington was an America-Hater, so who cares about his opinion?

According to Rep. Ron Paul, Congress hasn't declared war on anybody since Germany on Dec. 11, 1941. The reason, of course, is that members of Congress don't want the responsibility because war or peace is such an important issue that their constituents might actually notice how they voted and, if they don't like it, vote them out of office, if you can imagine.

That kind of voter impudence is simply not to be tolerated. Just look at how most of the big name Washington pundits were shocked that Connecticut Democrats voted against Sen. Joe Lieberman -- a former Veep candidate! -- merely over a little thing like being the leading Democratic cheerleader for the Iraq War.

A reader writes:

The only sane people in our government these days seem to be the high-ranking military. They should insist that Congress authorize a nuclear attack on Iran before they execute it. This would not be a coup. It is living up to their sworn duty to uphold the constitution, not their commander in chief.

On another note, a drawn-out Iran war would certainly increase the possibility of a military coup in Washington D.C. down the road. The two main scenarios are opposite in motivation, but both plausible:

1. The France 1958 scenario in which the French army in Algeria, feeling under-supported by the politicians in Paris, in effect overthrew the Fourth Republic (fortunately, the Army's choice for dictator, Gen. DeGaulle, preferred to be an elected monarch).

2. The Portugal 1974 scenario in which the Army rebels against the endless wars to preserve the African empire, overthrowing the senescent dictatorship, which almost led to a Soviet-aligned military dictatorship.

A reader writes:

"Congress declared war on Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania on June 5, 1942. It also declared war on Italy the same day as Germany."

My published articles are archived at iSteve.com -- Steve Sailer