2007年VOA标准英语-Iraq Renews Historic Tensions Between President

By Jim Malone
Washington
31 January 2007

As the U.S. Senate prepares to debate President Bush's decision to send more troops to Iraq, it also serves as a reminder¹ of the historical tensions that have existed between the president and Congress during times of war.  VOA National correspondent Jim Malone has more from Washington. 

Under the U.S. Constitution, Congress has the power to declare war and fund military operations.  The president is given the role of commander in chief of the armed forces and has the responsibility for carrying out military operations.

Some Democrats² believe the time has come for Congress to oppose the president's troop surge in Iraq by withholding³ funding for the additional forces.

 
Sen. Russ Feingold listens to testimony⁴ during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing to discuss Congress' constitutional power to end a war, 30 Jan 2007 
Among them is Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold.

"If and when Congress acts on the will of the American people by ending our involvement in the Iraq war, Congress will be performing the role assigned it by the founding fathers, that is, defining the nature of our military commitments and acting⁵ as a check on a president whose policies are weakening our nation," he said.

Many Republicans and some Democrats oppose the idea of a funding cutoff.  Republican Senator Orrin Hatch argues there are limits on congressional war-making powers and that cutting funding would send the wrong message to U.S. troops fighting in Iraq.

"The convention that framed our Constitution rejected empowering Congress to make war in favor of declaring war," he said. "Similarly, that convention unanimously rejected an amendment⁶ that would have granted Congress the power to declare peace.  So, the idea that Congress has some explicit⁷ power to end war or declare peace does not come from the Constitution.  The message to our troops is that we no longer support them or their mission."

Historians say the founders⁸ of the U.S. republic had strong feelings about placing most of the government's war-making powers with Congress.

Louis Fisher is an expert on constitutional law at the Library of Congress.  He recently testified before a Senate subcommittee.

"And when you look at the framers [of the Constitution], their view of history was that executives [leaders], over time in their search for fame and glory, got nations into wars that were ruinous to the people and ruinous to the treasury," he said. "So that is why the power of initiating⁹ war was placed in Congress, and the president has certain powers of a defensive¹⁰ nature to repel¹¹ sudden attacks."

But historians also note there is some ambiguity¹² in the Constitution as to what the shared powers of the president and the Congress should be during war time.

Walter Dellinger served in the Justice Department during the Clinton administration and now teaches law at Duke University in North Carolina.  He argues that Congress historically has had an important role in deciding when the United States goes to war, and for how long.

"The president, as commander in chief, I think, has the authority to choose the sub- commanders, to determine the tactics, to decide how to carry out the tasks which the military has been assigned," he said. "But it is ultimately Congress that decides the size, scope and duration of the use of military force, and this has been recognized by administrations of both political parties throughout our time."

In the past, Congress has used its war powers to cut off or limit funding for the war in Vietnam, as well as conflicts in Somalia, Bosnia and Cambodia.

But some legal scholars argue that Congress has gone too far in the past in exercising its war powers.

Robert Turner co-founded of the Center for National Security Law at the University of Virginia. He argues that the president must take the lead during wartime.

"In the conduct of war and the conduct of foreign affairs, the president, in fact, is the decider," he said. "Decisions involving the conduct of war, including where to move troops, whether to reinforce troops, whether to move troops from one hill to another, are vested exclusively in the president, and when Congress tries to control this power, either directly by statute¹³ or by conditions to appropriations¹⁴, it becomes a law breaker and it violates the Constitution."

However, even some Republicans are warning President Bush not to ignore Congress' traditional role in asserting itself during wartime.

 
Sen. Arlen Specter, left, and Sen. Russ Feingold listen to testimony on Congress' constitutional power to end a war, 30 Jan 2007 on Capitol Hill 

"The president repeatedly makes reference to the fact that he is the decider," said Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania. "I would suggest, and suggest respectfully to the president, that he is not the sole decider, that the decider is a shared and joint¹⁵ responsibility."

The United States has formally declared war against foreign nations 11 times in its history.  On each occasion, the declaration was first requested by the president, either in writing or before a joint session of Congress.

The U.S. last declared war during World War II.  Since then, Congress has been asked to authorize¹⁶ a host of military engagements, including the current one in Iraq.

1 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

2 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 withholding   

扣缴税款

参考例句：

• She was accused of withholding information from the police. 她被指控对警方知情不报。
• The judge suspected the witness was withholding information. 法官怀疑见证人在隐瞒情况。

4 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

5 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

6 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

7 explicit   

adj.详述的，明确的；坦率的；显然的

参考例句：

• She was quite explicit about why she left.她对自己离去的原因直言不讳。
• He avoids the explicit answer to us.他避免给我们明确的回答。

8 founders   

n.创始人( founder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was one of the founders of the university's medical faculty. 他是该大学医学院的创建人之一。 来自辞典例句
• The founders of our religion made this a cornerstone of morality. 我们宗教的创始人把这看作是道德的基石。 来自辞典例句

9 initiating   

v.开始( initiate的现在分词 )；传授；发起；接纳新成员

参考例句：

• He is good at initiating projects but rarely follows through with anything. 他善于创建项目，但难得坚持完成。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Only the perchlorate shows marked sensitiveness and possibly initiating properties. 只有高氯酸盐表现有显著的感度和可能具有起爆性能。 来自辞典例句

10 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

11 repel   

v.击退，抵制，拒绝，排斥

参考例句：

• A country must have the will to repel any invader.一个国家得有决心击退任何入侵者。
• Particles with similar electric charges repel each other.电荷同性的分子互相排斥。

12 ambiguity   

n.模棱两可；意义不明确

参考例句：

• The telegram was misunderstood because of its ambiguity.由于电文意义不明确而造成了误解。
• Her answer was above all ambiguity.她的回答毫不含糊。

13 statute   

n.成文法，法令，法规；章程，规则，条例

参考例句：

• Protection for the consumer is laid down by statute.保障消费者利益已在法令里作了规定。
• The next section will consider this environmental statute in detail.下一部分将详细论述环境法令的问题。

14 appropriations   

n.挪用（appropriation的复数形式）

参考例句：

• More commonly, funding controls are imposed in the annual appropriations process. 更普遍的作法是，拨款控制被规定在年度拨款手续中。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• Should the president veto the appropriations bill, it goes back to Congress. 假如总统否决了这项拨款提案，就把它退还给国会。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

15 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

16 authorize   

v.授权，委任；批准，认可

参考例句：

• He said that he needed to get his supervisor to authorize my refund.他说必须让主管人员批准我的退款。
• Only the President could authorize the use of the atomic bomb.只有总统才能授权使用原子弹。