In other words, the decision to put the entire country at risk of war must be made by the People, through their elected representatives.

This is more than soapbox rhetoric for the following reasons: (A) it still makes sense today,* (B) it was the reasoned decision of some very smart people who gathered in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787, and (C) it was part of the culture of the nation in the first years of the country. We know this from:

• The Constitution, text at Art. I, Sect. 8, supported by The Records of the Constitutional Convention of 1787,
• Early practice of the Congress and the Executive, and
• Original precedent of the US Supreme Court (in cases like Bas v. Tingy).

In order for The People to exercise the right to vote, it is necessary for The People to be able to have access to the facts upon which they can make an independent voluntary informed decision - otherwise, the social contract that binds us together is an unconscionable contract. (See, for example, Legal Aspects of Engineering, Cynthia M. Gayton and Richard C. Vaughn, pp. 105-110 and Essentials of Contract Law, Martin A. Frey and Phyllis Hurley Frey, Chap. 8, pp. 162-173).

As Andrew Cuomo, currently (Sept. 2010) the Attorney General of NY and Democratic candidate for Governor, recently explained, it is the People's decision that matters, not some politician's characterization of an opponent:

"(W)e have a democracy. That’s why we have elections. And the people of the state are going to tell you what they think. And they’ll listen to positions and they’ll read words and then they’ll render a judgment. And their characterization is the one that counts.” (The New York Times, Sept. 17, 2010 | Cached)

* One of the things that separates us from our forebears of the late 18th and early 19th centuries is technology.

In earlier times, it was possible that word of a threat against our country would get to Washington well after the threat had turned into an attack and the battle was over. Today, communication is instantaneous, and can cause Washington and television viewers to want to react to situations that are emergent. On this website, we are talking about unleashing the tremendous warpower of the United States of America. We are focused on that part of our national heritage that tends to kill and destroy, and ask questions later. We are not talking about the better parts of our nature that seek to embrace and learn from other cultures. When confronted by an emergent situation, it is easy to leap to conclusions, rely on ingrained stereotypes or personal avarice, and react.

As startling as the rapidity of unfolding events may seem today, it is not a new process. In times when membership in Congress was a part-time job and travel back to the nation's capitol was by horse and buggy, the founders of our country and the framers of our constitution made provision both for rapid Executive response to emergency situations and more careful and deliberative response by the Congress to emergent situations: Within well-defined boundaries, the President has the power to take decisive action to immediately repel sudden attacks, put down insurrections, thwart invasions, enforce Federal law, and quell domestic violence. Otherwise, unleashing the dog of war requires a prior act of Congress, called a Declaration of War.