Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy P. Pelosi
Before the War In Iraq, the last unpopular war was not ended by a President or a General or even a peace treaty. The Viet Nam War ended in 1975 during the administration of President Gerald Ford when the U.S. Congress decided against appropriating any more money for it.
And that is how the War in Afghanistan may also end. The real power to wage war is in the hands of Congress and the real power in the Congress today is in the hands of an Italian-American grandmother of six, a congresswoman from California who is perhaps, at times, the most powerful person in the country. As Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives she is third in line for the Presidency, after the Vice President, but when it comes to the power of the purse in running a government, Pelosi rules, as specified in the U.S. Constitution.
If she can marshal the votes of her majority party (so far she has a good record of this), she can, in effect, end the War in Afghanistan by denying the expenditure of money for continued prosecution of the conflict, specifically a recent request from the military for 40,000 more troops. No matter how many Senators protest, or even if the President insists, if the House of Representatives does not appropriate the money the war is over. It's not just a check on the powers of the Executive Branch, it is a checkmate on war.
And the way our political world is made up these days, she is the only person who can do it because she has only two constituencies: her home district in California (opposed to the war) and her fellow Democratic Representatives, who are very unhappy with the war. And recent national polls show most Americans agree with that view.
The decision to go to war is placed firmly in the hands of the U.S. Congress by our Constitution. Likewise the decision to stop a war. Whether we agree that the war should or should not end now, we cannot contest the potential and legitimate power of Congress to end it. This is the cornerstone of democracy.
photo courtesy http://www.house.gov
--Chris Lareau
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