The Contemporary Presidency Obama's Authorization Paradox: Syria and Congress's Continued Relevance in Military Affairs

When President Barack Obama stepped into the Rose Garden to address the American people on August 31, 2013, his words caught many by surprise. The announcement of the policy decision itself--that President Obama had decided the United States should take military action to punish the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad for its use of chemical weapons against its own people--was expected. For more than a year, the administration had warned Assad that using chemical weapons was a red line that, if crossed, would provoke an American response. What took even longtime politicos by surprise, however, was what the president said next: But having made my decision as Commander-in-Chief based on what I am convinced is our national security interests, I'm also mindful that I'm the President of the world's oldest constitutional democracy. I've long believed that our power is rooted not just in our military might, but in our example as a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. And that's why I've made a second decision: I will seek authorization for the use of force from the American people's representatives in Congress. (1) For many, this move posed quite a puzzle. At a meeting of his National Security team on August 24, the president by all accounts appeared to have decided to order a limited military strike against the Assad regime to punish it for the August 21 chemical weapons attacks that killed approximately 1,400 Syrian civilians. As late as August 30, Secretary of State John Kerry publicly labeled Assad "a thug and a murderer," leaving little doubt that American military action was imminent (Memmott 2013) However, over the 24 hours preceding the president's Rose Garden address, Obama changed his mind. A series of developments on both the international and domestic fronts undoubtedly influenced the president's decision calculus. On Wednesday, August 28, talks at the United Nations Security Council on a formal response to the chemical weapons attack broke down in the face of a Russian and Chinese veto of any resolution for military action. The following day, Prime Minister David Cameron shockingly lost a vote in the House of Commons to authorize the use of force. While France continued to stand with the United States, Cameron announced that he would respect the will of Parliament and not join any military action, despite his personal belief that a military response was required (Faiola 2013). Finally, members of Congress were also increasingly demanding a voice in Syrian policy. As of August 29, 140 members, including 21 Democrats, had signed a letter calling on Obama to seek congressional authorization before ordering a military strike; to do otherwise, the letter claimed, would be unconstitutional (Shabad 2013). The president did not change his mind because he believed a unilateral strike would have been illegal. Indeed, the administration's lawyers formally concluded that "important national interests" in bringing stability to the Middle East and enforcing international norms against the use of chemical weapons justified a unilateral strike, even absent authorization by Congress or the Security Council (Savage 2013). Moreover, in the Rose Garden, President Obama reiterated that he fervently believed the president has the authority to order a military strike absent congressional authorization. Instead, journalistic accounts have argued that Obama's eleventh hour reversal was a response to concerns, both at home and abroad, about the perceived legitimacy of a unilateral strike. Unlike Libya, for which Obama opted not to seek congressional authorization, a strike against Syria would not have the imprimatur of a UN Security Council mandate or, like Kosovo, of a unified North Atlantic Treaty Organization front. This emphasis on legitimacy is almost certainly correct--but it is also imprecise. Did Obama change his mind out of fear that Congress would exercise its formal powers to block or terminate an illegitimate military action? …