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This Thursday, January 9, the House of Representatives with a majority of Democrats voted a text which aims to limit the powers of Donald Trump in matters of military actions. Several members of Congress question the legality of the strike to eliminate Qassem Soleimani, because Congress was neither consulted nor even informed of this operation.
Officially, war powers are shared between Congress and the executive. According to the Constitution, only Congress can declare war. But the president is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and the scope of his powers is not specified, which leaves room for many interpretations, in particular as to his possibility of acting unilaterally as last Friday.
Few Presidents Waited for Green Light from Congress
In 2013, Barack Obama had decided to defer to Congress before launching strikes in Syria, but in reality, since the Second World War, few presidents have waited for the green light to conduct military operations.
Since 1973, federal law has attempted to limit the power of the executive. It requires the president to seek authorization from parliamentarians within 60 days when troops are engaged abroad. The operation last Friday did not fit into this framework and was justified, according to the administration, by the imminent threat of an attack against American interests.
Targeted assassinations, a widely used practice
This practice of targeted assassinations raises questions in terms of international law. On this point, American politics took a radical turn after the September 11 attacks. This practice is now widely used, in the name of the fight against terrorism and national security.
► Assassination of Soleimani: Trump defends himself from being a war-monger