War is something we are all contemplating as tensions with Iran continue.It certainly keeps me up at night.
After spending 22 years in the Army and deploying around the world, it still consumes a lot of my attention.Europe and America fought the "War to End All Wars" more than 100 years ago in the trenches of World War I.Of course, it didn’t really end wars, and it directly fed into World War II, which left millions dead and reset the global national hierarchy.
In the book "1984," George Orwell wrote that "by becoming continuous war has ceased to exist." When we normalize war, it becomes a constant in our lives, like a chronic disease we try to manage but never fully cure.That’s why one of the proudest votes I took in my first year in Congress was to repeal the 2002 authorization for use of military force in Iraq — almost 17 years to the day after I came home from my own deployment in that war.This marked the first time in my life that Congress successfully repealed an authorization for use of military force.AIR FORCE REVEALS B-2'S HIDDEN SHIP KILLER CAPABILITY AS CHINA THREAT GROWSEarlier this year I introduced my own bipartisan reform plan to repeal another dormant authorization and require future authorizations to be reapproved at least every five years.
This package would also give Congress more tools to quickly and clearly define future missions after the president uses force to confront urgent threats.American Marines training on drones, as the US military works hard to catch up.(Fox News)Our Constitution is clear: Only Congress can declare war and decide to engage in the use of military force.
In 1973, Congress passed the War Powers Act, which delegated some authority to the president for up to 60 days before Congress must give consent for the effort to continue.When that timeline expired for the conflict in Iran, I felt compelled to enforce it for one simple reason — the decision of when and how to go to war is perhaps the most consequential that...