Re: President Bush Must Obtain Congress's Approval for the Use of Force Against Iraq  

Dear Member of Congress: 

On behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union and its approximately 300,000 members, we write to urge you, during any debate on a resolution to approve a military operation launched against Iraq, to oppose any efforts by the Executive Branch to insist on open-ended authority that could be use in the future to evade this constitutional responsibility. 

The ACLU does not, as a matter of policy, take a position as to whether military force should be used against Iraq. But we have been steadfast in insisting, from Vietnam to Kosovo, that decisions whether to use military force require Congress's consent. 

As we explain in the attached memorandum, the President's lawyers are mistaken in claiming authority to launch a preemptive strike against Iraq without further action by Congress. Moreover, statements from the President and his cabinet are unclear about whether he will seek Congress's support for military action he is already determined to take, or whether he will seek permission before launching any attack. 

The Congress, too, must not permit its authority to be eroded by approving vague language, such as that used in the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin resolution, that avoids hard choices while giving the President a blank check. Prior approval is not simply a good idea, as some have suggested. It is a constitutional imperative. The people of the United States have a right, through their elected representatives, to determine whether to go to war. 

Sincerely, 

Anthony D. Romero
Executive Director 

Laura W. Murphy
Director, Washington National Office 

Timothy H. Edgar
ACLU Legislative Counsel