How Americans Decide to Go to War
2020-01-09
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1Speaking at the White House on Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump defended his targeted killing of an Iranian general.
2Qassem Soleimani was the head of Iran's Quds Force.
3He died last Friday in a U.S. airstrike near Baghdad International Airport.
4His death increased tensions in the area.
5Iran has already answered by firing missiles into Iraq.
6The missiles landed at two military bases that house U.S. troops.
7No casualties from that attack were reported.
8Trump did not speak Wednesday about using additional military force against Iran.
9Instead, he said he would put more economic restrictions on the country.
10But many American lawmakers are expressing concerns about open war between the two countries.
11They will vote this week on a measure to prevent U.S. military forces from taking action against Iran unless Congress approves.
12The U.S. Constitution says Congress has the authority to declare war.
13And it says the president is the commander-in-chief of the military.
14The men who wrote the Constitution divided these powers on purpose.
15They wanted to prevent one person or group from making a sudden move toward war without others in the government agreeing.
16But lawmakers and the president have often clashed over how to operate within the rules of the Constitution.
17The last time Congress officially declared war was almost 80 years ago, during World War II.
18American military actions since then have happened without an official declaration of war.
19In 1973, Congress passed the War Powers Act to further define the president's role in directing military actions.
20The law required that U.S. presidents had 38 hours to report to Congress after committing U.S. forces to military actions overseas.
21The president must also officially say why she or he is committing forces.
22In 2001, lawmakers and the president worked together to create a resolution permitting actions to answer terrorist threats.
23It is called the Authorization for Use of Military Force, or AUMF.
24The AUMF is unusual because it permits actions against groups or people, as opposed to nations or areas.
25The resolution has created debate under Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Trump.
26All three leaders have used the AUMF's large definition of a terrorist threat to say military actions are needed.
27Observers say Trump appears to be using his ability to strike under the War Powers Act, which permits the president to use military force to answer an attack.
28Trump's government noted intelligence they say pointed to planned attacks on Americans as a reason for the airstrike.
29In a tweet on Sunday, Trump wrote, "These Media Posts will serve as notification to the United States Congress that should Iran strike any U.S. person or target, the United States will quickly & fully strike back, & perhaps in a disproportionate manner. Such legal notice is not required, but is given nevertheless!"
30Lawmakers from the opposition party to the president, the Democrats, have expressed concerns about how Trump's government told lawmakers about the airstrike.
31Some want to require Trump to discuss increasing hostilities against Iran with Congress and the public before taking action.
32For his part, Trump on Wednesday called on the security alliance of NATO to become "much more involved in the Middle East process."
33I'm Kelly Jean Kelly.
1Speaking at the White House on Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump defended his targeted killing of an Iranian general. 2Qassem Soleimani was the head of Iran's Quds Force. He died last Friday in a U.S. airstrike near Baghdad International Airport. 3His death increased tensions in the area. Iran has already answered by firing missiles into Iraq. The missiles landed at two military bases that house U.S. troops. 4No casualties from that attack were reported. Trump did not speak Wednesday about using additional military force against Iran. Instead, he said he would put more economic restrictions on the country. 5But many American lawmakers are expressing concerns about open war between the two countries. They will vote this week on a measure to prevent U.S. military forces from taking action against Iran unless Congress approves. 6How does the U.S. declare war? 7The U.S. Constitution says Congress has the authority to declare war. And it says the president is the commander-in-chief of the military. 8The men who wrote the Constitution divided these powers on purpose. They wanted to prevent one person or group from making a sudden move toward war without others in the government agreeing. 9But lawmakers and the president have often clashed over how to operate within the rules of the Constitution. The last time Congress officially declared war was almost 80 years ago, during World War II. American military actions since then have happened without an official declaration of war. 10In 1973, Congress passed the War Powers Act to further define the president's role in directing military actions. The law required that U.S. presidents had 38 hours to report to Congress after committing U.S. forces to military actions overseas. The president must also officially say why she or he is committing forces. 11In 2001, lawmakers and the president worked together to create a resolution permitting actions to answer terrorist threats. It is called the Authorization for Use of Military Force, or AUMF. The AUMF is unusual because it permits actions against groups or people, as opposed to nations or areas. 12The resolution has created debate under Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Trump. All three leaders have used the AUMF's large definition of a terrorist threat to say military actions are needed. 13What does Trump say? 14Observers say Trump appears to be using his ability to strike under the War Powers Act, which permits the president to use military force to answer an attack. Trump's government noted intelligence they say pointed to planned attacks on Americans as a reason for the airstrike. 15In a tweet on Sunday, Trump wrote, "These Media Posts will serve as notification to the United States Congress that should Iran strike any U.S. person or target, the United States will quickly & fully strike back, & perhaps in a disproportionate manner. Such legal notice is not required, but is given nevertheless!" 16How is Congress reacting? 17Lawmakers from the opposition party to the president, the Democrats, have expressed concerns about how Trump's government told lawmakers about the airstrike. Some want to require Trump to discuss increasing hostilities against Iran with Congress and the public before taking action. 18For his part, Trump on Wednesday called on the security alliance of NATO to become "much more involved in the Middle East process." 19I'm Kelly Jean Kelly. 20This report comes from the Associated Press and VOA. Kelly Jean Kelly adapted it for Learning English. George Grow and Caty Weaver were the editors. 21______________________________________________________________ 22Words in This Story 23casualty - n. a person who is hurt or killed during an accident, war, etc. 24authority - n. the power to give orders or make decisions : the power or right to direct or control someone or something 25role - n. a part that someone or something has in a particular activity or situation 26commit - v. to decide to use something for some particular purpose or use 27disproportionate - adj. having or showing a difference that is not fair, reasonable, or expected : too large or too small in relation to something 28nevertheless - adv. in spite of what has just been said