Letter to the editor: Is Trump confused on war powers?

President Trump ordered seven B-2 stealth bombers against Iran, dropping 14 30,000-pound “bunker busting bombs.” He claimed sole authority under the “executive power” of Article II of the Constitution. I think he is confused.

Article II names the president “commander in chief” and states that “The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America,” but this power is not unlimited. Presidential war power is counterbalanced by congressional power in Article I : “The Congress shall have the Power … To declare War.”

This separation of powers prevents our nation from going to war through the will of a single person. Such decisions require collective judgment.

But when the nation is suddenly attacked or attack is imminent, there is no time for Congress to declare war. The War Powers Act of 1973 recognizes this. If a president must take emergency action, the act only requires the president to report and justify the hostilities within 48 hours to the speaker of the House and the president pro tem of the Senate.

The bombing of Iran was not an emergency. The nation had not been attacked. Four days before the bombing, Trump gave himself two weeks to act. If Trump thought he had 14 days, he must have believed there was no immediate threat that would thus have prevented him from consulting with Congress.

In my opinion, the president was confused and remains confused. He does not have the constitutional power to unilaterally declare war.

George Leiner

Greensburg