We have been here before. In 2003, the promise was that American military power would transform Iraq overnight. Instead, the result was two decades of mission creep, trillions in debt, and a generation of veterans bearing the scars of an open-ended conflict. The lesson of the last twenty years is clear: in modern warfare, tactical brilliance on Day One is no substitute for a defined exit strategy.
For “America First” to be more than a slogan, it must require that the nation’s interests are defined before its blood is spilled. Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution is not a suggestion; it is a strategic requirement. It ensures that the burden of war is a collective decision made by the American people through their representatives, rather than the unilateral choice of the president.
Without a formal authorization from Congress, the United States risks drifting into another conflict of choice without a defined end state. Are we prepared for a ground occupation? Is the objective nuclear rollback or the “liberation” of 85 million people? Each objective carries a vastly different cost in lives and treasure—costs the military is being asked to pay without a clear mandate.
The War Powers Resolution currently being introduced by Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Kentucky and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-California provides an opportunity for the debate that is needed. This is not about being weak or strong on Iran or its odious leadership; it is about the strategic discipline required to ensure the White House shows its work and defines the mission.
We cannot afford to be lured back into the Middle East by the siren song of regime change. It is time for Congress to assert its authority to clarify strategic objectives, appropriate means, and ensure thereby that this operation does not become the first chapter of another twenty-year war.
Christopher S. Chivvis is the director of the American Statecraft Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he is also a senior fellow. He was previously a senior U.S. intelligence official, with experience in the Pentagon and at the RAND Corporation.
