Reading Room Document

Presidential Power to Use the Armed Forces Abroad Without Statutory Authorization

The President's inherent, constitutional authority as Commander-in-Chief, his broad foreign policy powers, and his duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed generally empower him to deploy the armed forces abroad without a declaration of war by Congress or other congressional authorization. A historical pattern of presidential initiative and congressional acquiescence in emergency situations calling for immediate action, including situations involving rescue and retaliation, confirm this inherent power, and the courts have generally declined to review its use. The War Powers Resolution generally precludes presidential reliance on statutory authority for military actions clearly involving hostilities, unless a statute expressly authorizes such actions, and regulates the President's use of his constitutional powers in this regard. In particular, it introduces consultation and reporting requirements in connection with any use of the armed forces, and requires the termination of such use within 60 days or whenever Congress so directs. The term "United States Armed Forces" in the War Powers Resolution does not include military personnel detailed to and under the control of the Central Intelligence Agency. [In an opinion issued on October 26, 1983, published as an appendix to this opinion, this conclusion is reconsidered and reversed.] The term "hostilities" in the War Powers Resolution does not include sporadic military or paramilitary attacks on our armed forces stationed abroad; furthermore, its applicability requires an active decision to place forces in a hostile situation rather than their simply acting in self-defense. The requirement of consultation in the War Powers Resolution is not on its face unconstitutional, though it may, if strictly construed, raise constitutional questions. The provision in the War Powers Resolution permitting Congress to require removal of our armed forces in particular cases by passage of a concurrent resolution not presented to the President is a prima facie violation of Article I, § 7 of the Constitution. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at www.justice.gov/file/22351/download.

February 12, 1980