Seeking to oust Iraq's authoritarian leader, Saddam Hussein, United States president George W. Bush petitioned both the U.S. Congress and the Security Council of the United Nations (UN) to authorize a military strike against Iraq. The Bush administration accused Iraq of stockpiling weapons of mass destruction and argued that Saddam Hussein's regime posed a grave threat to U.S. security and peace in the region.

After intensive lobbying by the Bush administration, in early October 2002, the U.S. House of Representatives and then the U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly to give President Bush broad authority to use force against Iraq. Then on November 8, 2002, the Bush administration won a unanimous vote by the UN Security Council requiring Iraq to demonstrate that it is disarming its weapons of mass destruction or face "serious consequences." The UN then sent a team of weapons inspectors to Iraq to verify Iraqi compliance with this resolution, known as UN Resolution 1441.

By early 2003, the Bush administration, together with the governments of the United Kingdom and Spain, insisted that Iraq was not adequately cooperating with the weapons inspectors, and they lobbied for a second UN resolution that would threaten Iraq with war if it did not disarm by a specific date. However, the three allies eventually realized their proposal did not have sufficient backing at the UN, and on March 17, 2003, said they would not seek a vote on the new resolution. After abandoning his appeal to the UN, President Bush declared, "The United States of America has the sovereign authority to use force in assuring its own national security." On March 20, U.S.-led forces began an attack of Iraq.

Why did the president bother to make these overtures to Congress and the UN? Who, finally, has the authority to wage war?

The president
The president of the United States has no clear constitutional authority to declare war without congressional approval. However, the U.S. Supreme Court has determined that the president, as commander-in-chief of the military, does have the authority to recognize a "state of war" initiated against the United States and may in these circumstances unilaterally send U.S. troops into battle. President Bush has also stated that his powers as commander-in-chief allow him to act independently in defense of the nation.

The president did not seek a formal declaration of war from Congress. But he did seek congressional support, he said, to demonstrate to the United Nations and to the world that military action against Iraq was not just his own objective; it was a view supported by the American electorate as a whole. Strategically, support from the legislators bolstered the president's case as he pressed the UN Security Council for a resolution authorizing military force in Iraq.

Congress
The Constitution of the United States gives Congress alone the authority to formally declare war. But in several past conflicts Congress has relinquished this authority to the president. In fact, Congress has not issued a formal declaration of war since World War II.

U.S. presidents after World War II have assumed most of the authority to send U.S. troops into battle. The Korean War (1950-1953), for example, was regarded by the U.S. government as a police action rather than as a war, and President Harry S. Truman never sought a declaration of war from Congress. And in 1964 Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which effectively ceded to President Lyndon B. Johnson the ability to wage war against Vietnam. Congress passed a similar resolution on January 12, 1991, authorizing President George H. W. Bush to use force against Iraq in the Persian Gulf War.

The current president Bush also never sought a formal declaration of war from Congress. Instead, he requested, and received, the authority to use armed forces "as he determines to be necessary and appropriate" to defend American interests against "the continuing threat posed by Iraq."

The United Nations
The United Nations Security Council is the only organ of the United Nations that can authorize military action to enforce its resolutions or to reestablish peace in a region of conflict. It is composed of 15 member states, of which five are permanent. All five permanent members--the United States, Russia, Great Britain, France, and China--must vote unanimously to approve military force.

The Bush administration forcefully lobbied the Security Council to pass a tough new resolution similar to the one it passed on November 29, 1990, after Iraq invaded Kuwait. That earlier resolution allowed UN member states to "use all necessary means" to force Iraq from Kuwait if Iraq remained in the country after January 15, 1991. When Iraq ignored the resolution, it paved the way for a subsequent U.S. congressional resolution authorizing military force and, ultimately, the Persian Gulf War.

The current Bush administration won a similar demonstration of international support from the Security Council for the possible use of military force against Iraq. UN Resolution 1441, passed by the Security Council on November 8, 2002, required Iraq to reveal all its chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons programs to UN inspectors.

Soon after the UN weapons inspection team entered Iraq later that month, however, member nations of the Security Council began to stridently debate its findings. The United States and Britain contended that Iraq had fallen far short of the disarmament demands required by Resolution 1441. Other nations--France in particular--suggested that the UN should not rush to war, but should instead give the weapons inspectors more time to complete their mission.

The Bush administration argued that the resolution left the United States free to take military action against Iraq without a subsequent resolution specifically authorizing force. In a press conference on February 1, 2003, President Bush said, "Should the United Nations decide to pass a second resolution, it would be welcomed if it is yet another signal that we're intent upon disarming Saddam Hussein. But 1441 gives us the authority to move without any second resolution." Other member nations of the Security Council--notably France, Germany, Russia, and China--argued that Resolution 1441 did not provide such latitude for military action, and that any such action taken against Iraq would be illegitimate without a second UN resolution expressly authorizing force.

Finally losing patience with the pace of weapons inspections, the United States, Britain, and Spain proposed a second resolution threatening military force if Iraq did not disarm by a specific date. However, the three allies failed to win sufficient support among other member nations of the Security Council and withdrew their proposal before it came to a vote. After withdrawing the proposal, President Bush declared, "The United Nations Security Council has not lived up to its responsibilities, so we will rise to ours." He then announced that the United States and its allies were free to strike Iraq without UN approval.

Background
The following articles offer further background on the enduring question of who has the authority to declare war.

Articles marked with a (*) are available to those with access to MSN Encarta Premium. Learn more.

What is war?

• War--an overview of armed conflict, from the perspective of international law.
• Warfare--a comprehensive discussion of military confrontations, including the types of war, and the history and future of war.
• Declaration of War--formal announcements of hostile intentions by nations against each other.

Who declared past wars?

• Korean War--military struggle fought on the Korean Peninsula in the early 1950s. The United States never formally declared war against North Korea because it considered the conflict a police action rather than a war in the legal sense.
• Vietnam War--armed conflict fought in Vietnam from 1959 to 1975. U.S. involvement in the war intensified dramatically after Congress ceded war-making powers to President Lyndon Johnson with the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.
• Gulf of Tonkin Resolution*--resolution passed by Congress on August 7, 1964, which gave President Johnson virtually unchecked authority to wage war in Vietnam. The resolution provided the basis for much of the United States military involvement in the Vietnam War.
• Persian Gulf War--armed conflict that began in August 1990 when Iraq invaded Kuwait. The subsequent fighting in early 1991 between Iraq and an international coalition of forces led by the United States ended the Iraqi occupation, but did not topple its authoritarian leader, Saddam Hussein.

U.S. law & declarations of war

• President of the United States--although he is the commander-in-chief of the U.S. armed forces, the president has no clear constitutional authority to declare war.
• Congress of the United States--the sole branch of government with the constitutional authority to formally declare war.
• War Powers Resolution*--text of the 1973 congressional resolution that attempted to restrict the president's ability to order military deployments by calling for the president to consult with Congress before sending troops into hostilities, to make periodic reports on the status of hostilities, and to end unauthorized hostilities after 60 days.

International authorities

• United Nations--international body established after World War II to promote world peace and cooperation.
• United Nations Security Council*--the only branch of the UN that can authorize military action to enforce its resolutions.

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