Congress can halt Iraq war, experts tell lawmakers

[cal04]

The U.S. Congress has the power to end the war in Iraq, a former Bush administration attorney and other high-powered legal experts told a Senate hearing on Tuesday.

With many lawmakers poised to confront President George W. Bush by voting disapproval of his war policy in the coming days, four of five experts called before the Senate Judiciary Committee said Congress could go further and restrict or stop U.S. involvement if it chose.

"I think the constitutional scheme does give Congress broad authority to terminate a war," said Bradford Berenson, a Washington lawyer who was a White House associate counsel under Bush from 2001 to 2003.

"It is ultimately Congress that decides the size, scope and duration of the use of military force," said Walter Dellinger, former acting solicitor general -- the government's chief advocate before the Supreme Court -- in 1996-97, and an assistant attorney general three years before that.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070130/ts_nm/iraq_usa_congress_dc_3

[Booster]

1. Coming from a "former" Bush administration attorney, this sounds

like a trap they want the Dems to fall into. By the Dems ending the war (which I'm all for) whatever happens to any soldier overseas or any American here on this soil, they will say it's the Dems' fault because they stopped the war on terror just when we were winning. They are setting the stage for the Dems to get the whimpy chimp out of this mess without him having to say "I failed". In the long run, who gives a flying s__t what he says as long as we can save lives and restore some dignity to the U.S. Go for it Dems, only impeach the little bastard at the same time.

[orpupilofnature57]

2. But If Iran cuts one more fart , will they do the right thing then?

Clinging to the law is the last minion before Impeachment in most cases, I'd like to think we're safer from the lunacy of shrub ,but so far more ' The Emperors Clothing '

[MasonJar]

3. It sounded like the attorneys were saying that Constitutionally

the Congress has the right to wage and end war.

[librechik]

4. check this out--in 93, Republican Congress FORCED Clinton out of Somalia

no problem with their "power" to do this then!

http://glenngreenwald.blogspot.com/2007/01/republicans-and-congress-war-powers.html

sample

"Sen. Dirk Kempthorne (R-ID), October 5


Mr. President, it is time for our troops to come home. I would give this directive to the military leadership and that is that they are to use whatever means they determine necessary to secure the release of American POW's in Somalia, because to leave them behind would be to issue adeath sentence to those Americans, and that is absolutely unacceptable.

But, Mr. President, the longer we leave United States troops in Somalia under U.N. command, the longer we leave United States troops in unjustified danger. I owe my allegiance to the United States, not to the United Nations. It is time for the Senate of the United States to get on with the debate, to get on with the vote, and to get the American troops home..."

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