Pelosi and Reid should warn Bush on Iran
Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mullen announcing the Pentagon is planning "potential" military action against Iran is just cause for Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to send a stern warning to President Bush that only Congress has the authority to declare war.
It is prudent for the Pentagon to be proactive in its defensive planning against our enemies. But the important issues here are: determining who our enemies are, what realistic level of threat they pose, and to what extent the American people deem acts of war and appropriate response.
George Bush has abused his executive authority in the past and there is no evidence to suggest he will not continue to do so in the future. Pelosi and Reid should make it clear, well in advance, that any unilateral decision to attack Iran will be a gross violation of the Constitution.
