Placing Iraq in the framework of the U.S. Constitution

i confess to not being george lakoff's greatest fan... the obsession with "framing" cuts a little too close to neuro-linguistic programming for my comfort... however, that said, the following makes perfect sense...

The Framers of the Constitution framed the current debate over Iraq: Congress sets the overall strategy, and retains control over troop levels, redeployment dates, etc. The president's job is to carry out the strategic mission set by Congress.

The United States Constitution designates Congress as The Decider: they decide on overall military strategy. That is their constitutional duty. The president is the commander in chief of the military — and only the military. He is not commander over Congress, nor is he commander over the people of the United States. As such, the president's duty is to carry out the strategic mission given to him by Congress.

But Congress has abdicated its duty.

Congressional leaders have neglected to remind the nation what the Constitution says. They have allowed the president to reframe the Constitution, usurping their power for himself. The Framers framed it right. The Congress irresponsibly let the president reframe the Constitution.

ACTION: Write to your Congresspersons and Senators and ask them to frame their Constitutional role as the Framers did. We suggest that you raise the following issues:

• The Constitution provides Congress with the power to define the military agenda, including troop re-deployment and the establishment of timetables.

• The role of the president is to carry out the agenda defined by Congress.

• Congress must continuously assert its Constitutional power and responsibility.

• Congress must not give in to the betrayal myth. The president was offered funding with timetables but he turned it down — he is the betrayer.

• Congress must frame the matter as an issue of Constitutional authority

• Congress must place the safety of the troops directly in the hands of the commander-in-chief, whose job is to carry out the agenda given by Congress, which includes protecting the safety of our troops.

this certainly cuts through a lot of the b.s... what i like best about it is that it shoots the unitary executive theory and the claim of the all-powerful commander in chief directly in the head...

note: in the full article, solid constitutional arguments are cited which i haven't included here...

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