President Trump’s Constitutional Strike Against Iran

In the Articles of Confederation they pointed out that there are two separate war powers: the power to wage war and the power to declare war

Joe Biden was literally funding Iran’s nuclear program. A smart Commander in Chief must sometimes take action--using quick strikes to preserve the peace--because Islamic extremists were building a nuclear bomb…and it is all no longer a problem because of President Donald Trump.

And now the Democrats and a certain collection of weak-kneed Republicans are wringing their hands, quoting Article I, Section 8, and proclaiming we are in the middle of some kind of constitutional crisis.

Let’s understand what the Constitution actually says. Yes, the Constitution in Article I, Section 8 gives Congress the power to declare war. But that is not the same as waging war. The Founding Fathers--men who had just fought off the greatest military power on earth at the time--knew that distinction. They knew that while war must be declared by Congress, which is an official announcement to the world that a state of war exists, the execution of war--the tactical, operational, and rapid-fire decisions--must belong to one man: the Commander in Chief.

The Articles of Confederation failed because it shackled the general government, and the executive was just another bureaucrat in the Congress. Under that system, America was a sitting duck in a world full of empires--slow to respond, unable to defend herself, vulnerable to enemies who don’t wait for committee hearings, and unable to take any decisive action with an energetic figurehead. So, when the Constitution was drafted, they separated the war powers. In the Articles of Confederation they pointed out that there are two separate war powers: the power to wage war and the power to declare war--and they gave both of them to the legislature.

He acted, and he acted quickly, decisively, and surgically

With the Constitution, those two powers were separated with the power to declare war going to the Congress and the power to wage war landing squarely with the President of the United States.

"It will be said that we should make war only upon formal declaration, but [pirates and tyrants] don’t wait for formalities."--Thomas Jefferson

President Thomas Jefferson didn’t need a Congressional war declaration to send American forces after the Barbary Pirates.  James Madison in the Second Barbary War didn’t either.  They understood that enemies who attack commerce and threaten American sovereignty do not deserve a legislative process before receiving American justice.

Iran, today’s largest global state sponsor of terrorism has been actively building nuclear weapons.  They chant "Death to America" with religious fervor.  They fund proxy armies from Gaza to Lebanon to Yemen.  And while the Leftist Democrats in America obsess over pronouns and false claims of man-made climate change, Iran was preparing to put a nuclear-tipped ICBM in the air.

What did Trump do?

He acted, and he acted quickly, decisively, and surgically.

No boots on the ground.  No occupation.  No long-term entanglement.  Just three strategic strikes with B-2 bombers under the cover of darkness (Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan were struck at about 2:30 am Iran Time)--eliminating Iran’s nuclear capabilities in a matter of minutes.  The element of surprise was critical.  If President Trump had to go to Congress, it would’ve taken months, leaked to the press, debated in subcommittees, and telegraphed to Tehran before the first vote was cast.

By then, we’d be counting bodies in the millions.

Trump’s actions were not only legal--they were constitutional, moral, and necessary

Iran’s nuclear program wasn’t just a regional threat--it was/is a potential global nightmare. And President Trump, along with Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel, understands what the armchair critics in Washington D.C. do not: Evil must be stopped before it becomes unstoppable.

Never mind the hypocrisy.

Every military engagement since World War II--Korea, Vietnam, Libya, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria--has been done without a formal declaration of war. But now, because it’s Trump, suddenly the Left wants to hug the Constitution like they haven’t spent the last 50 years using it for toilet paper?

Trump’s actions were not only legal--they were constitutional, moral, and necessary. And let me be clear: if Iran retaliates, President Trump has not only the authority, but the duty, to finish the job.

The Founders believed in limited government, but not in suicidal government. A Commander in Chief must be able to act in the interest of national defense--and that’s what Trump did.

"A free people ought not only to be armed, but disciplined…"--George Washington

Thanks to President Donald J. Trump the American people can sleep well tonight. Iran no longer has the means to build a nuclear bomb. That’s not thanks to a U.N. resolution, or a meaningless treaty or a deal with a people who lie, deceive and wish every last American to be dead. The world is a safer place and the bully of the Middle East is no longer a threat thanks to a President who doesn’t blink.

Donald J. Trump means business, and the enemies of America have just learned what happens when they bet against him. Guaranteed, Xi Jinping of China and Vladimir Putin of Russia were paying close attention.