Date: 1983-09-28
Speaker: PHILIP M. CRANE (republican)
Chamber: H

I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Chairman. I rise in opposition to the. LongObek amendment. but also in opposition to the committee resolution. If so strict a constructionist as Thomas Jefferson did not feel constrained to seek a declaration of war against Tripoli. todays action constitutes an unwarranted intrusion on the foreign policy prerogatives of the Commander in Chief. Moreover. House Joint Resolution 364. in its statement of "Fidings and Purpose." section 2(a.)(5) declares: United States Armed Forces participating In the Multinational Force In Lebanon are now In hostilities requiring authorization of their continued presence under the war powers resolution.. Hostilities historically have described conditions thus far unmet by the U.S. presence In Lebanon. The date of August 29. 1983. Is invoked to demonstrate that hostilities have since that time prevailed with regard to our Marines. If the deaths. however lamentable. of Lieutenant Losey and Sergeant Ortega on August 29 constitute hostilities. by conventional definition. then the same condition was reached in El Salvador with the recent murder of U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander Schaufelberger. That same condition has also existed In South Korea since 1976 with the brutal murder of U.S. Army Captain Bonifas and Lieutenant Barrett at the hands of North Korean soldiers. When I say there Is no valid basis for invoking the War Powers Act at this timeand there is a cloud as to its constitutionality since the Supreme Court decision overturning congressional vetoesit Is not because I am making a brief for our continued presence in Lebanon. Whatever reasons there may have been for Introducing the multinational force to maintain stability. while foreign forces were withdrawing and the infant Lebanese Government restored authority over that beleaguered nation. Those reasons have long since passed. Sad to say. there is no telling when or If the sovereignty of Lebanon will ever be restored. One thing. however. Is certain: no externally Imposed solutions can secure peace in that region. President Gemayel and the Israeli Government.. of necessity. must determine what is in their mutual Interest and we can be assured that they will act accordingly. We can be equally assured that if PLO strengths are rebuilt In Lebanon and threaten Israeli lives and security. the State of Israel will act with dispatch to remove that menace. We can also rest assured that if the Syrian involvement in Lebanon becomes a threat to the State of Israel. the latter will dictate terms of a settlement In Damascus in a matter of hours or at most days. We all hope and pray that reason might prevail to make such actions unnecessary. But that determination is not ours to make. Rather. it mustand willbe made by those who are directly affected. In the meantime. It Is a legitimate exercise of the powers of our Commander in Chief to move U.S. forces to trouble spots throughout the world that advance overall U.S. Interests. short of committing them to the waging of war without congressional approval. The Intent of the War Powers Act is admirable. After two undeclared wars within the past 33 years. fought without intention of winning. In part because of the absence of such a declaration. Congress sought to reclaim the constitutional responsibility It relinquished In 1950. But this should not cause the Congress to go overboard and interfere with the legitimate exercise of Executive authority conferred upon the President as Commander in Chief. If U.S. forces suddenly find themselves truly involved in hostilities. I am sure the President will make the decision to withdraw our forces. or will seek a declaration of war. That is the time to Invoke the concept of the War Powers Act. That is the time each one of us in this body will have not just the right. but the constitutional duty to determine the wisdom of such a policy decision.