1984 Ronald Reagan - Questioning the War Powers Act Section 5

In 1983, a horrendous attack on U.S. marines in Lebanon set up a showdown between President Reagan and Congress over the War Powers Act of 1973.  The War Powers Act was adopted by Congress in 1973 during the Vietnam War era to clarify how the war powers are divided between Congress and the Commander in chief.   Article 1, Section 8 gives Congress the power to raise  armies, declare and fund wars, while Article II, Section 2 gives the President as commander in chief, the ability to call out the militia and lead them in war.   The War powers act was an attempt by Congress to check the President's power to commit the country to an armed conflict.  It was vetoed by President Nixon in 1973, but passed by two-thirds of congress to override the veto.  President Gerald Ford often spoke out about the dangers of the War Powers act, but it wasn't until 1983 that it was first successfully invoked by Congress.

Palestine Liberation Organization

The events that led up to this showdown, begin in July of 1981, when Israeli and Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) forces both made formal announcements that the a cease-fire on the Israeli-Lebanese frontier had been negotiated by the United States. There had been interest in a cease-fire for many years but the interest had intensified in 1979 when the regime Moammad Reza Shah of Palavi of Iran fell and was replaced by a radical Islamic regime led by Ayatollah Ruholah Kohmeni.  Iran drastically reduced oil sales to the Western nations causing oil shortages and rising gas prices.  At the time the Carter administration had used up all it's political capital in negotiating the Camp David agreements between Israel and Egypt. Any further attempts to establish Arab-Israeli peace settlements would not be forthcoming until after the 1980 presidential election was over.  Then, in 1981, with a Republican and born-again Christian in the office, the State of Israel boldly established new guidelines of what it expected from the Palestinian Arabs for peace to be established.   Israel would continue to pledge adherence to the Camp David Accords, but under no condition would it allow a Palestinian State to emerge.  Despite the optics of unlimited support for Israel, the new Reagan administration signed a memorandum of understanding with Israel. In large part this was to combat the rising Soviet military threat and the Reagan administration's desire to find additional allies to combat the rise.   Israel leaders went public with their intentions, defending the alliance as an effort to counter the growing threat of Soviet expansion in the Middle East and Africa.   They accused the Soviet union of assisting and facilitating the PLO and other Arab nations to create threats to Israel. 

Cease fire

These events had a significant impact on Israel's neighbor to the North, Lebanon.  After King Hussain of Jordan expelled the PLO in 1971, Lebanon became the new haven for the PLO fighters.   Once established in Lebanon, the PLO used it as a base to mount attacks on Israel.  To combat the attacks, Israel joined forces with Maronite Christian forces and Phalange militias inside of Lebanon, and by 1981 Lebanon was in a state of civil war.   As violence along the Israeli-Lebanon border escalated, President Reagan sent a special envoy led by Philip Habib to negotiate a cease-fire between Israel and the PLO.   Despite the push-back from many hard-line Israeli politicians, the cease fire was signed on July of 1981 with the goal of ending the involvement of Israel and the PLO in the Lebanese civil conflicts.   

The ceasefire held for 11 months until June of 1982 when the PLO attempted to assassinate the Israeli ambassador to London.  In response, Israel invaded West Beirut and blockaded the city to defend against any insurgency of the PLO.  For seven weeks, Israel attacked West Beirut by sea, air and land in what is known as the siege of Beirut.   They cut off all food, water and electricity supplies, putting the lives of thousands of civilians who lived along side the PLO guerilla fighters in jeopardy.   The siege of Beirut was condemned by many nations including the United States.   The United States even at one time considered the use of sanctions to stop the Israel's assault on West Beirut.  After seven seeks, the besieged PLO agreed to with draw their forces from Lebanon.   As part of the agreement, a Multinational Force was setup in Lebanon to oversee the peaceful withdrawal of the PLO from Lebanon.  The United States, France, Italy and the United Kingdom all contributed to the the peacekeeping operations in Lebanon.

1983 Beirut barracks bombings

But then tragedy struck.  On August 29, two truck bombs struck separate buildings housing the peacekeepers, killing 241 U.S. and 58 French peace keepers.  These terrorist attacks, remembered as the 1983 Beirut barracks bombings sent shock waves throughout the United States.  A NY Times article from Sept. 20, 1983 cited a senior Democrat in the House who said, "There is no good solution ... Staying in is bad, but leaving is worse." President Ronald Reagan called the attack a "despicable act", and pledged to keep the military forces in Lebanon.  Reagan was backed by Caspar Weinberger his Defense Secretary who said that there would be no change in U.S. Policy towards Lebanon.   When Vice President George H.W. Bush toured the site of the terror attacks he announced that the U.S. "would not be cowed by terrorists".  President Reagan assembled his security team to plan an attack on the Baalbek, Lebanon where the Iranian Revolutionary Guards were housed, but Weinberger aborted the mission due to concerns that it would harm U.S. relations with other Arab nations.   Congress on the other hand, looked for ways to tie down the hands of the President, and inject their own authority.  Congress for the first time successfully invoked the War Powers act, specifically section 5c which stated that if at any time US Armed forces are engaged in hostilities outside the territory of the United States, such forces should be removed by the President unless directly authorized by Congress.   Finally, on October 12, 1983 President Reagan signed S.J. Res. 159, a resolution on the Multinational Force in Lebanon in which Congress authorized the continued participation by U.S. armed forces in the Multinational Force in Lebanon.   The resolution required that the President report to Congress at least every three months on the situation and limited the participation for 18 months unless extended longer by Congress.

S.J. Res. 159

President Reagan signed the resolution, but he stood firm in his conviction that giving Congress the authority to "[impose] such arbitrary and inflexible deadlines [create] unwise limitations on Presidential authority to deploy United States Forces in the interests of United States national security".   In his statement on the signing of this agreement, President Reagan wanted to make it clear that while he agreed with the resolution to authorize force, he could not "cede any of the authority vested in me under the Constitution as President and as Commander in Chief of United States Armed Forces".   Disagreements on section 4(a)(1) defining the existence of hostilities was something that could be tolerated,  but section 5b regarding the inflexible 60 day deadline to pull US Armed Forces out of imminent hostilities unless authorized by Congress was not.  Reagan suggested that to require such an imposition was not only unwise, but it could undermine foreign policy judgments, hindering our ability to deploy armed forces and encourage our adversaries to maximize hostilities towards existing deployments.   This was what Reagan called, a difference over "institutional prerogatives", and did not have any impact on his intention to move forward regarding the Multinational Force in a manner that would achieve the goals outlined in S.J. Res. 159. 

In President Reagan's 1984 State of the Union Address, he addressed the situation with a much more conciliatory tone.    Yet, President Reagan still made his point clear.  "We must not be driven from our objectives for peace in Lebanon by state-sponsored terrorism".   Forcing the hand of the Commander in Chief with inflexible deadlines, and threats to pull out when terrorist attacks occur, would be to drive us away from our objectives of peace.

"Your joint resolution on the multinational peacekeeping force in Lebanon is also serving the cause of peace. We are making progress in Lebanon. For nearly 10 years, the Lebanese have lived from tragedy to tragedy with no hope for their future. Now the multinational peacekeeping force and our marines are helping them break their cycle of despair. There is hope for a free, independent, and sovereign Lebanon. We must have the courage to give peace a chance. And we must not be driven from our objectives for peace in Lebanon by state-sponsored terrorism. We have seen this ugly specter in Beirut, Kuwait, and Rangoon. It demands international attention. I will forward shortly legislative proposals to help combat terrorism. And I will be seeking support from our allies for concerted action."

1973 War Powers Act Sections 5 b and c

(b) Within sixty calendar days after a report is submitted or is required to be submitted pursuant to section 4(a)(1), whichever is earlier, the President shall terminate any use of United States Armed Forces with respect to which such report was submitted (or required to be submitted), unless the Congress (1) has declared war or has enacted a specific authorization for such use of United States Armed Forces, (2) has extended by law such sixty-day period, or (3) is physically unable to meet as a result of an armed attack upon the United States. Such sixty-day period shall be extended for not more than an additional thirty days if the President determines and certifies to the Congress in writing that unavoidable military necessity respecting the safety of United States Armed Forces requires the continued use of such armed forces in the course of bringing about a prompt removal of such forces.

(c) Notwithstanding subsection (b), at any time that United States Armed Forces are engaged in hostilities outside the territory of the United States, its possessions and territories without a declaration of war or specific statutory authorization, such forces shall be removed by the President if the Congress so directs by concurrent resolution.

http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=40205
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=40624
http://www.nytimes.com/1981/07/25/world/cease-fire-border-fighting-declared-israel-plo-us-sees-hope-for-wider-peace.html
http://www.nytimes.com/1988/04/19/world/war-powers-act-years-of-conflict-over-constitutionality.html
http://www.nytimes.com/1983/09/21/world/congress-and-reagan-back-compromise-on-war-powers-keeping-marines-in-lebanon.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Beirut
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multinational_Force_in_Lebanon
Arab-Israeli Conflict: A Documentary and Reference Guide by Priscilla Roberts (2017) pg. 164-165
Victory for Hire: Private Security Companies Impact on Military Effectiveness by Molly Dunigan (2011)  page 106
https://www.congress.gov/bill/98th-congress/senate-joint-resolution/159
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/warpower.asp