Bill aims to realign war clout

Republican Walter Jones of North Carolina and Democrat Bill Delahunt of Massachusetts represent two of the oldest European settlements in the United States -- Jones, the Roanoke colony; and Delahunt, Plymouth Rock.

So it is fitting that the two men are reopening a historic debate about the roles of Congress and the president in declaring and prosecuting wars.

Jones and Delahunt recently introduced the Constitutional War Powers Resolution, which would strengthen the role of Congress in deciding when the U.S. should go to war.

It would be easy to assume that the resolution is about Iraq. Jones has been a leading Republican critic of the war and of President Bush.

But Jones said he began looking at the issue in 1999, when he was part of a group of congressional members who sued President Clinton seeking to end U.S. military strikes against the former Yugoslavia. The strikes were being conducted without a declaration of war.

"Since and including the Korean conflict," Jones said, "we have never as a nation declared war. Congress is responsible for declaring war.

"This has nothing to do with Bush. This is about the future and whether Congress is going to meet its responsibilities."

This is the sort of issue that Jones, 64, of Farmville would undertake. He has always been an ideological free agent -- and a burr under the saddles of both political parties. That was true when he was a Democratic state legislator, and it is true now that he is a Republican congressman.

There is an Alice-in-Wonderland flavor to the debate. Technically, the U.S. has been at peace for 62 years.

Congress has declared five wars: the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, the Spanish-American War, World War I and World War II.

But since then, presidents have engaged only in "police actions" in Korea, Vietnam, Lebanon, Panama, the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan and Iraq. Who knew we had so many cops at Fort Bragg and Camp Lejeune?

Under the Constitution, Congress has the power "to declare War" and "raise and support armies." The president "shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States."

Before the Iraq war, Congress voted to authorize military action -- a vote that Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards has been apologizing for all over the country -- but did not declare war.

During the Vietnam War, Congress sought to reign in presidential war-making powers. The War Powers Resolution was passed by Congress over President Nixon's veto in 1973. It requires Congress to pass a resolution authorizing the use of force within 60 days of hostilities and for the president to regularly consult with Congress.

The Jones-Delahunt Resolution would go further. It would prohibit the president from ordering military action without congressional approval, except when the United States or U.S. troops were attacked or when U.S citizens needed to be evacuated. It also would require far more reporting to Congress.

"This bill," Jones said, "will start the debate."