Airs Sunday, May 24, at 6 p.m. The President has launched a sustained, long-term military campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. But did he have constitutional power to do so? The Constitution carefully divides the war powers of the United States between Congress and the President. Article II provides that “The President shall be Commander in Chief.” But Article I provides that “The Congress shall have Power … To Declare War.” In this case, Congress has not declared war; the President ordered the attacks unilaterally. Did he exceed his authority and violate the Constitution? Arguing for the motion are Gene Healy, VP of the Cato Institute & Author of The Cult of the Presidency and Deborah Pearlstein, Assistant Professor at Cardozo Law & Former Director of Law & Security Program at Human Rights First. Arguing against the motion are Akhil Reed Amar, Professor of Law at Yale University and Philip Bobbitt, Professor at Columbia Law School & Lecturer at the University of Texas at Austin.
Intelligence Squared U.S. Debates: The President Has Exceeded His Constitutional Authority
