Julian E. Zelizer: Don't Give Obama Blank Check On War
[Julian E. Zelizer is a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University. He is the author of "Arsenal of Democracy" and a book on former President Carter and editor of a book assessing former President George W. Bush's administration to be published this fall by Princeton University Press.]
Despite all the questions surrounding the war in Afghanistan, congressional Democrats have not challenged the administration's policies since President Obama announced a surge of troops in 2009....
Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution on August 7. The House unanimously supported the measure, and in the Senate the vote was 88-2. Johnson was elated. He watched his poll numbers rise. The resolution, according to Johnson, was like grandma's nightshirt, because it "covered everything."
There were many people in the summer of 1964 who were warning the president to avoid escalating the war in Vietnam. Most remarkable was the intensity of the opposition in Congress that came from across the political spectrum. The criticism came from all sources.
Liberal Democrats such as Frank Church of Idaho said the intervention was dangerous and unnecessary. Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield had asked the president, "What national interests in Asia would steel the American people for the massive costs of an ever-deepening involvement of that kind?"...
Democrats can't continue to write a blank check for this president. They must use the power of oversight and investigation to start addressing the problems with the war strategy and to create pressure on the administration to strengthen its military plans for the coming year. They can't simply trust the president do just to the right thing. Too often, when Congress has remained silent, presidents have made huge mistakes -- and it has taken decades for the nation to recover.
Read entire article at CNN.com
Despite all the questions surrounding the war in Afghanistan, congressional Democrats have not challenged the administration's policies since President Obama announced a surge of troops in 2009....
Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution on August 7. The House unanimously supported the measure, and in the Senate the vote was 88-2. Johnson was elated. He watched his poll numbers rise. The resolution, according to Johnson, was like grandma's nightshirt, because it "covered everything."
There were many people in the summer of 1964 who were warning the president to avoid escalating the war in Vietnam. Most remarkable was the intensity of the opposition in Congress that came from across the political spectrum. The criticism came from all sources.
Liberal Democrats such as Frank Church of Idaho said the intervention was dangerous and unnecessary. Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield had asked the president, "What national interests in Asia would steel the American people for the massive costs of an ever-deepening involvement of that kind?"...
Democrats can't continue to write a blank check for this president. They must use the power of oversight and investigation to start addressing the problems with the war strategy and to create pressure on the administration to strengthen its military plans for the coming year. They can't simply trust the president do just to the right thing. Too often, when Congress has remained silent, presidents have made huge mistakes -- and it has taken decades for the nation to recover.