Sunday, January 28, 2007

At Ease, Mr President Indeed

A friend of mine over at Dave's Chronic Malcontents, sent me a link this weekend from the New York Times Op-Ed section written by Garry Wills. Mr. Wills, makes an excellent and much needed point

WE hear constantly now about “our commander in chief.” The word has become a synonym for “president.” It is said that we “elect a commander in chief.” It is asked whether this or that candidate is “worthy to be our commander in chief.”

But the president is not our commander in chief. He certainly is not mine. I am not in the Army.

According to the Constitution of the United States in Article 2, Section 2, the first sentence says:
The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States

This point is quite simple, the President is not the Commander in Chief of the civilian population. He is not the Commander in Chief of the Army, the Navy and any state militia that has been federalized. For any national guard unit that is still under the command of their respective states governor, the president is not their Commander in Chief. This where, in my humble opinion, 99% of the national guard units should currently be deployed (in their home states) actively fighting the war on terror at home, not half way around the world, but again, that is another story for another day. To go back to Mr. Wills Op-Ed:

When Abraham Lincoln took actions based on military considerations, he gave himself the proper title, “commander in chief of the Army and Navy of the United States.” That title is rarely — more like never — heard today. It is just “commander in chief,” or even “commander in chief of the United States.” This reflects the increasing militarization of our politics. The citizenry at large is now thought of as under military discipline. In wartime, it is true, people submit to the national leadership more than in peacetime. The executive branch takes actions in secret, unaccountable to the electorate, to hide its moves from the enemy and protect national secrets. Constitutional shortcuts are taken “for the duration.” But those impositions are removed when normal life returns.

I think it is time for the civilian population of this country to remind the current president and all the hopefuls out there what the limits are of the role Commander in Chief and to do everything possible that no sitting president ever usurps that role and tries to push their military titles upon the civilians.

1 comment:

Carol said...

Two Years in the Air National Guard hardly qualifys as "Commander-in-Chief"