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By blackhedd Posted in Democrats — Comments (8) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

Sen. James Webb (D-WashPost) has introduced legislation to require the President to seek the approval of Congress before launching a war against Iran, or any other country. Press release here (although the Senate Web server seems to be on its knees this morning).

Of course the legislation exempts Iraq because Democrats support the troops and would never de-fund their operations. Why, that would be political suicide unpatriotic!

The problem with this is that President Bush was very careful to seek Congressional approval for the Iraq campaign. He would certainly do the same if military action were required against Iran (the rationale and possibility for which are duly acknowledged by Webb).

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From Webb's speech in the Senate, quoted in the link above:

"I rise today to introduce legislation that will prohibit the use of funds for military operations in Iran without congressional authorization. The purpose of this legislation is to restore a proper balance between the executive and legislative branches when it comes to the commencement of military activities.

Next comes the weaseling about Iraq:

"I have taken great care in the preparation of this bill to ensure that it will not in any way prevent our military forces from carrying out their tactical responsibilities in places such as Iraq and in the international waters off Iran's coast. The legislation allows American forces to directly respond to attacks or possible attacks that might be initiated from Iran, as well as those that might be begun elsewhere and then carry over into Iranian territory. I have also excluded operations related to intelligence gathering.

And then we get to the heart of the matter:

"The major function of this legislation is to prevent this Administration from commencing unprovoked military activities against Iran without the approval of the Congress. The legislation accomplishes this goal through the proper constitutional process of prohibiting all funding for such an endeavor. Unlike the current situation in Iraq, where cutting off funds might impede or interrupt ongoing operations, this legislation denies funding that would be necessary to begin such operations against Iran in the first place.

Evidently, Mr. Webb, an ex-Secretary of the Navy, wants to erect some kind of barrier to exercising military force against Iran. He goes on to commend the Administration for opening up a process that will lead, oxymoronically, to both our military departure from Iraq, and an increase in stability in the Middle East.

He also leaves no doubt that he doesn't trust either the Iranians or the Administration not to make a mess of the "new dialog" that is taking place in the region, and blunder into war:

"As this regional conference approaches, the rhetoric with respect to possible Iranian activities inside Iraq continues, and the increases to our naval and missile-defense presence in the Gulf, remain. The Administration's past failure to engage with Iran diplomatically in a meaningful way, coupled with what Iran could perceive as preparations for a military strike, create a potent brew that easily could lead to miscalculation on both sides.

But you realize, do you not, Mr. Webb, that the President sought and duly received approval from both Congress and the UN for the military action that punished the Saddam Hussein regime for its violations of UN directives and removed its clear threats to peace? Exactly what do you hope to achieve with this proposed legislation that isn't already the case?

Webb again:

"...all of the options regarding Iran remain on the table. The question is in what context these options should be debated, alongside other options designed to eventually open up Iran and bring it responsibly into the world community. In my view, and in terms of the constitutional process, absent a direct attack or a clearly imminent threat, the place for that debate is here in the open forum of the Congress, not in some closed-door meeting at the White House.

Ah yes. Webb would like Congress, not the Administration, to actually decide whether military action is necessary. I'll leave the consitutionality of this to the experts, but I'll point out that this is a pretty good recipe for making sure we never go to war. Congress isn't good at making important decisions, and it's even less good at taking decisive action when necessary. That's why we have an executive branch in the first place.

Oh, and be sure to note the weasel-phrase: absent a direct attack or a clearly imminent threat. That gives Webb cover to say he's not trying to keep our forces abroad from defending themselves when fired upon. It's also the out a future Democrat President would need to circumvent this proposal, should it become law.