For this debate, I am taking the side of Bob Baur in his CON argument. In his argument, he claims that no one branch of government holds more power in regard to wartime function. He looks at specific case studies and also draws on historical analysis of early presidents and their views on the matter. The main reason that I agree with his analysis is that regardless of the way a president uses wartime powers, they will always be held accountable by Congress. There are two main reasons that are why I believe this to be the case..

First and foremost, there are numerous historical examples of congress responding to the executive’s wartime powers that further limit the president’s power. The examples that Baur brings up in his argument are proof of the “subtle, yet tangible, ways” congress interacts and influences the president’s military action. We can also see that throughout history, there have been differing levels of dominance over wartime actions between congress and the executive. This will largely tie into my second reason, as it highlights the extremely complicated circumstance of wartime actions. You see, most times that the president utilizes wartime powers are when time is of the essence. Many instances call for immediate action and the executive has to be able to make its decision as soon as possible. If the executive is apparently abusing or usurping wartime power from congress, why does congress have the multiple tools at its disposal to hold them accountable? Lastly, individuals who believe that the executive is using its power in a way the framers did not intend need to just look at Thomas Jefferson’s presidency. Upon analyzing the framer, you can see he used unilateral military action numerous times throughout his presidency due to the circumstances. Hopefully, what I have brought up is enough to highlight the complicated relationship between the executive and congress in regard to wartime powers. It is not a simple discussion and when one really looks into it, you can see the evidence for a deeply complex relationship that changes over time. There is not one branch of government that simply overpowers the other in military affairs.