After a solid month of President Trump and the rest of the administration talking up the possibility of unilaterally attacking North Korea as a way of “solving” the North Korea problem militarily, some Congressional Democrats have finally taken notice, offering an open letter warning against launching such an attack without Congressional approval.
The letter, signed by 64 members of Congress, insists that an “inconsistent or unpredictable policy” puts the US at risk of an unimaginable conflict. They go on to request details on what the administration is actually doing, including steps for trying to get direct negotiations started.
Questions about direct negotiations are likely to particularly needle the president, as he’s been very clear that he views diplomacy with North Korea as a “failure,” and has bragged about how well he thinks he’s handling the situation without negotiations.
It’s unusual for such a number of people in Congress to specifically warn against a war without authorization, as in recent history Congressional leadership has been loathe to entertain any votes on unpopular wars at all, giving the impression presidents can launch protracted, unilateral wars in practice, if not legally.
The Vietnam war demonstrated clearly that wars become only unpopular if the population begins to hold that such wars interfere with its well-being and good life. That war nor Bush II’s wars on Afghanistan and Iraq were truly unpopular in their early phases.