President George Bush told reporters on on September 4, 2002, that he would seek congressional approval before proceeding with any military conflict with Iraq. He said that he expects to ask Congress to pass a resolution supporting action in Iraq before they leave to campaign for the November elections.

Bush administration officials have indicated that they do not believe congressional approval is legally necessary, but many believed the administration should pursue some form of congressional affirmation to ensure public support for the effort.

War Powers Debate

White House lawyers have argued that the administration can find sufficient legal authority in the 1991 resolution giving the president's father authority to enforce UN Security Council resolutions. Its authority was further reinforced, aides say, by resolutions passed in the House and Senate on September 14, 2001, backing a military response to the terrorist attacks on September 11. Critics counter that any current military engagement in Iraq can not be justified by resolutions passed more than ten years ago, and that the resolutions passed last September are not applicable because Iraq's supposed role in the September 11 attacks is unproven.

Underlying the issue was an ongoing disagreement between Congress and the president over implementation of the 1973 War Powers Resolution. That law, passed over President Richard Nixon's veto, permits the president to take unilateral military action when acting in his constitutional role as commander in chief (Article II, Section 2), but limits such military engagements to 90 days without approval by Congress, which the Constitution grants sole power to declare war (Article I, Section 8). Some scholars have questioned the constitutionality of War Powers Resolution, and its authority has been questioned by every presidential administration since it was enacted.

In 1991, the current president's father sought congressional support for his administration's war in Iraq while simultaneously arguing that it was not legally necessary. Resolutions endorsing the war passed the Senate by a vote of 52-47 and the House by a vote of 250-183. The current administration seemed to be taking a similar position.

- Updated 9/5/02