Gen. Martin Dempsey, Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, has spoken soberly about the dangers from any military strike on Syria, but press reports indicate President Obama is still set on launching cruise missiles in the coming days, an action that former U.S. intelligence professionals say should prompt Dempsey’s resignation.<\/i><\/p>\n
MEMORANDUM FOR: General Martin Dempsey, Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff
FROM: Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity
SUBJECT: Syria and Our Oath to Defend the Constitution<\/p>\n
Dear Gen. Dempsey:<\/p>\n
Summary: We refer to your acknowledgment, in your letter of July 19 to Sen. Carl Levin on Syria, that a \u201cdecision to use force is not one that any of us takes lightly. It is no less than an act of war.\u201d It appears that the President may order such an act of war without proper Congressional authorization. <\/strong><\/p>\n As seasoned intelligence and military professionals solemnly sworn to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, we have long been aware that \u2013 from private to general \u2013 it is one\u2019s duty not to obey an illegal order. If such were given, the honorable thing would be to resign, rather than be complicit.<\/strong><\/p>\n In responding to questions on military options voiced at your re-nomination hearing on July 18, your letter to the chair of the Committee on Armed Services reflects that you acknowledge Congress\u2019s Constitutional role with respect to U.S. \u201cacts of war.\u201d Equally important, you addressed these words to Sen. Levin: \u201cYou deserve my best military advice on how military force could<\/span> be used in order to decide whether it should<\/span> be used.\u201d (emphasis in your letter<\/em>).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The options your letter addressed regarding potential use of military force included five being considered at the time: (1) Train, Advise, Assist the Opposition; (2) Conduct Limited Stand-off Strikes; (3) Establish a No-Fly Zone; (4) Establish Buffer Zones; (5) Control Chemical Weapons. You were quite candid about the risks and costs attached to each of the five options, and stressed the difficulty of staying out of the Syrian civil war, once the U.S. launched military action.<\/p>\n \u2018Tailored, Limited\u2019 Strike Option<\/strong><\/p>\n Presumably, there has not been enough time to give Sen. Levin\u2019s committee an equivalent assessment of the implications of the new option described by the President Wednesday evening as a \u201ctailored, limited\u201d response to the chemical weapons attack on August 21 that he has been told was carried out by Syrian government forces. President Obama said, without elaboration, that a retaliatory strike is \u201cneeded … to protect U.S. security.\u201d<\/p>\n It is precisely this kind of unsupported claim (so embarrassingly reminiscent of the spurious ones used more than a decade ago to \u201cjustify\u201d attacks on Iraq) that needs to be subjected to rigorous analysis by both the Pentagon and Congress BEFORE the President orders military action. For some unexplained reason of urgency, that order may come within the next day or two. With no wish to prejudge the results of analysis presumably under way, we feel it our responsibility to tell you now that, speaking out of several hundred years of collective experience in intelligence and national security matters, we strongly believe that the President\u2019s reference to a military strike on Syria being \u201cneeded to protect U.S. security\u201d cannot bear close scrutiny.<\/p>\n In all candor, the credibility of his chief national security advisers \u2013 and his own credibility \u2013 have been seriously damaged in recent months, giving all the more urgency and importance to the need for Congress to exercise its Constitutional role regarding war. And, as usual, there are serious problems with the provenance and nature of the \u201cintelligence\u201d that is being used to support the need for military action.<\/p>\n In your July 19 letter to Sen. Levin you emphasized: \u201cAs we weigh our options, we should be able to conclude with some confidence that the use of force will move us toward the intended outcome. … Once we take action, we should be prepared for what comes next. Deeper involvement is hard to avoid. We should act in accordance with the law, and to the extent possible, in concert with our allies and partners.\u201d<\/strong> (emphasis supplied)<\/p>\n This last sentence raises, first and foremost, the question of what the Constitution says of the role of Congress in authorizing a military attack that, in your words, \u201cis no less than an act of war\u201d (further discussed below).<\/p>\n It also raises the important issue of how seriously we should take the result of democratic Parliamentary procedures among our allies. Although not legally required to do so, British Prime Minister David Cameron on Thursday sought Parliamentary approval for military action against Syria and was rebuffed. With as much grace as he could summon, Cameron said the British people had expressed their will and he would not flout it (even though he could do so, legally in the British system):<\/p>\n \u201cIt is clear to me that the British Parliament, reflecting the views of the British people, does not want to see British military action. I get that, and the government will act accordingly,\u201d a tense-looking Cameron said immediately after the vote.<\/p>\n French President Francois Hollande has said his country may still strike Syria to \u201cpunish\u201d it for allegedly using chemical weapons, despite the British Parliament\u2019s failure to endorse military action. If Fiji can be lined up again, that would make a coalition of at least three.<\/p>\n The Fundamentals: Congress\u2019s Role<\/strong><\/p>\n Before the President spoke on Wednesday, the ranking member on the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice, Jerrold Nadler issued a formal statement titled: Constitution Requires Congressional Authorization on Use of Force Against Syria<\/strong>. Nadler wrote:<\/p>\n \u201cThe Constitution requires that, barring an attack on the United States or an imminent threat to the U.S., any decision to use military force can only be made by Congress \u2013 not by the President. The decision to go to war \u2013 and we should be clear, launching a military strike on another country, justified or not, is an act of war \u2013 is reserved by the Constitution to the American people acting through their elected representatives in Congress.<\/p>\n \u201cSince there is no imminent threat to the United States, there is no legal justification for bypassing the Constitutionally-required Congressional authorization. \u2018Consultation\u2019 with Congress is not sufficient. The Constitution requires Congressional authorization.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThe American people deserve to have this decision debated and made in the open, with all the facts and arguments laid out for public review and debate, followed by a Congressional vote. If the President believes that military action against Syria is necessary, he should immediately call Congress back into session and seek the Constitutionally-required authorization.\u201d<\/p>\n As of Thursday, more than a third of the House of Representatives have spoken out against being marginalized, as they were before Libya, many insisting that there be Congressional debate and a vote before any military strike on Syria.<\/p>\n In addition, Republican House Speaker John Boehner sent Obama a letter Wednesday urging him to \u201cmake the case to the American people and Congress for how potential military action will secure American national security interests, preserve America\u2019s credibility, deter the future use of chemical weapons, and, critically, be a part of our broader policy and strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n The President called Boehner on Thursday to brief him \u201con the status of deliberations over Syria,\u201d according to a Boehner spokesman, who added that, \u201cduring the call, the speaker sought answers to concerns outlined in his letter, including the legal justification for any military strike.\u201d After the call, Boehner reportedly complained that his questions had not been answered.<\/p>\n Holding Congress in Contempt<\/strong><\/p>\n Elementary school children learn that, in view of the Founders\u2019 experience with English kings, it was not by chance that, in crafting the Constitution, they took care to give to our elected representatives in Congress the exclusive \u201cPower To declare War [and] To raise and support Armies.\u201d (Article 1, Section 8). The somber historical consequences of letting this key power of Congress fall into disuse after WWII \u2013 in effect, allowing Presidents to act like Kings \u2013 speak eloquently to the folly of ignoring Article 1, Section 8.<\/p>\n And yet, there is no sign that President Barack Obama intends to request Congressional authorization (as opposed to \u201cconsultation\u201d with chosen Members) before he orders military action against Syria. Indeed, he and his top appointees have been openly contemptuous of the Constitutional role of Congress in such matters.<\/p>\n Obama\u2019s former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta was smoother and more wise-old-handish than his predecessors in emasculating Congressional power. Thanks to Panetta, we have direct insight into how the Obama administration may strike Syria with very little consultation (not to mention authorization) from Congress.<\/p>\n Several of us remember watching you in some distress sitting next to your then-boss Panetta as he tried to put Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Alabama) in his place, at a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee on March 7, 2012. Chafing belatedly over the unauthorized nature of the war in Libya, Sessions asked repeatedly what \u201clegal basis\u201d would the Obama administration rely on to do in Syria what it did in Libya.<\/p>\n Panetta stonewalled time after time, making it abundantly clear that the Obama administration does not believe it needs Congressional approval for wars like the one in Libya. \u201cI am really baffled,\u201d said Sessions. \u201cThe only legal authority that\u2019s required to deploy the U.S. military [in combat] is the Congress and the President and the law and the Constitution.\u201d<\/p>\n Panetta\u2019s response did nothing to relieve Sessions\u2019s bafflement: \u201cLet me just for the record be clear again, Senator, so there is no misunderstanding. When it comes to national defense, the President has the authority under the Constitution to act to defend this country, and we will, Sir.\u201d<\/p>\n You will remember Panetta\u2019s attitude, which Sen. Sessions called \u201cbreathtaking.\u201d You said nothing then, and we can understand that. But, frankly, we are hoping that you had that awkward experience in mind when you reminded Sen. Levin that, \u201cWe should act in accordance with the law.\u201d<\/p>\n Clearly, there is an important Constitutional issue here. The question is whether you will again choose to be silent, or whether you will give Secretary Chuck Hagel and the President notice that your oath to support and defend the Constitution precludes complicity in end-running Congress on Syria.<\/p>\n If, Resign<\/strong><\/p>\n We do not understand why the White House has so far been unwilling to await the results of the UN inspection in Damascus, but we are all too familiar with what happens once the juggernaut starts rolling to war. However, if despite Thursday\u2019s vote in the British Parliament and the increased opposition in Congress to war without the authorization of Congress, the President decides to order an attack on Syria, we urge you to act in accordance with your solemn oath to support and defend the Constitution, as well as your own conscience.<\/p>\n In such circumstances, we believe strongly that you should resign and explain your reasons at once to the American people.<\/p>\n Very Respectfully,<\/p>\n For the Steering Group, Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n William Binney, Senior Scientist, NSA (ret.)<\/p>\n Thomas Drake, Senior Executive, NSA (former)<\/p>\n Dan Ellsberg, VIPS Member Emeritus<\/p>\n Philip Giraldi, CIA, Operations Officer (ret.)<\/p>\n Larry Johnson, CIA & State Department (ret.)<\/p>\n W. Patrick Lang, Senior Executive and Defense Intelligence Officer, DIA (ret.)<\/p>\n David MacMichael, National Intelligence Council (ret.)<\/p>\n Elizabeth Murray, Deputy National Intelligence Officer for Middle East (ret.)<\/p>\n Todd Pierce, US Army Judge Advocate General (ret.)<\/p>\n Coleen Rowley, Division Council & Special Agent, FBI (ret.)<\/p>\n Larry Wilkerson, Col., US Army (ret); Chief of Staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell<\/p>\n Ann Wright, Col., US Army (ret); Foreign Service Officer (ret.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Gen. Martin Dempsey, Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, has spoken soberly about the dangers from any military strike on Syria, but press reports indicate President Obama is still set on launching cruise missiles in the coming days, an action that former U.S. intelligence professionals say should prompt Dempsey’s resignation. 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