AF-separation-of-powers-Digital-20 - Flipbook - Page 17
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
Rights/Responsibilities As
The Commander In Chief
A
rticle II, §2 of the Constitution states, in part, “The
President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army
and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the
several states when called in to the actual service of
the United States...”
As Commander in Chief, the President’s primary
responsibility is to protect and defend the United
States. To this end, the President may call upon our
armed forces to conduct a military campaign. The
President may declare war in emergency
circumstances without the consent of Congress;
however, additional roles and responsibilities of the
President as the Commander in Chief include the
power to deploy our armed forces abroad for military
operations; the responsibility of conducting foreign
relations on behalf of the United States; the power to
approve military goals and strategies and to decide
major tactical decisions, and the authority to negotiate
and execute agreements and treaties on behalf of the
United States.
Significantly, as Commander in Chief, the President
may alone declare war; however, in 1973, this power
was restricted by the War Powers Resolution, which was
passed by Congress that year over the President’s veto.
The War Powers Resolution restricted the Commander
in Chief’s power to commit our armed forces into
hostilities by redistributing some of that power to
Congress. Interpretations of the War Powers Resolution
vary, but most agree it requires the President to report
fully to Congress upon a declaration to commit our
armed forces into hostilities, to define a maximum
limited time frame for engaging in hostilities.
The Resolution states that the President’s power to
commit our armed forces into hostilities, or into
situations of imminent harm and present danger, is
limited to “(1) a declaration of war, (2) a specific
statutory authorization, or (3) a national emergency
created by an attack on the United States, its territories or
possessions, or its armed forces.”
17
