Legal Commentary

Congressional "Privateers?"

By Big Tent Democrat

I love the movie "Master And Commander." But as policy cue? (via DougJ):

Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) and a growing number of national security experts are calling on Congress to consider using letters of marque and reprisal, a power written into the Constitution that allows the United States to hire private citizens to keep international waters safe. . . . “The Constitution gives Congress the power to issue letters of marque and reprisal when a precise declaration of war is impossible due to the vagueness of the enemy,” Paul wrote in a press release. “Once letters of marque and reprisal are issued, every terrorist is essentially a marked man.”

Not the best idea I have heard recently. Consider this "national security expert's" take:

“If we have 100 American wanna-be Rambos patrolling the seas, it’s probably a good way of getting the job done,” said Competitive Enterprise Institute senior fellow and security expert Eli Lehrer. “Right now we have a Navy designed mostly to fight other navies. The weapons we have are all excellent, but they may not be the best ones to fight these kinds of pirates. The only cost under letters of marque would be some sort of bounty for the pirates.”

Sheesh. What's in the water in these "think tanks?" I tell you what is interesting though - it is the Congress, not the President, that has the power to enact this "national security policy." Only the Congress can issue Letters of Marque." Can we finally get folks to understand that the President does not have unchecked power on national security and foreign policy? If for that alone, I think this discussion would be worthy.

Speaking for me only

Full post as published by TalkLeft on April 15, 2009 (boomark / email).