In today’s New York Times, the co-chairs of the National War Powers Commission, both former secretaries of state — James Baker (under Bush the Elder) and Warren Christopher (during Bill Clinton’s first term) — outline their recommendations for restoring balance to the war-making process.
I applaud their intent, though I question some of the particulars. Perhaps I read it too quickly, but the first half of their op-ed seems to contradict a later claim, namely, that the Baker-Christopher proposal does not insist “the president get the consent of Congress” before going to war. If it doesn’t “insist” on such consent, perhaps it should. Isn’t that the point, to have robust, irrefutable checks and balances in place on matters of exceeding weight and consequence?