The Power of Words and Its Misuse
In today’s polarized world, we see more and more of the intentional misuse of words as a means to accomplishing political goals. Words have power, and how we use them matter. We saw that in the lead up to the Iraq War, its justification at the time, and its explanation today. Taking the Iraq War as a case study to examine, we see that words can not only mislead the public but that they also have a legal application, which changes how the governmental apparatus works.
Article 1 Section 8 of the United States Constitution states that Congress shall have the power to declare war. Note, that to declare something is a public, often verbal, action. More than a quarter of a century ago, Congress enacted the War Powers Resolution in 1973. The Constitution in combination with the War Powers Resolution is the main source of legitimization of war. Without them, wars might be illegitimate and illegal. The term War in this sense is a legal concept.
The Constitution, the legal document that is the foundation of our legal system, has been challenged by various actors and actions in regard to war. The earliest documented challenges to its imperative that “Congress has the power to declare war”, is found in several early conflicts and wars, e.g. various Indian Wars and the Quasi-War (or Undeclared War With France). The Bey of Tripoli incident is another example of such…
