Dr. Davis On The Issues - The Series

One of the toughest decisions Congress must make is whether or not to authorize the President to go to war. The two current military operations, Iraq and Afghanistan, are obviously two different situations. Would you have authorized the President on either of those situations? And why or why not?

"Assuming information to confirm links of the Afghan terrorist camps to 9/11, with refusal of the Afghan government to cooperate, I would have voted for war on Afghanistan to the extent of eradicating the camps and terrorists, followed by our withdrawal. I believe we should at that point have focused our intelligence resources on monitoring for any signs of recurrence, in Afghanistan or elsewhere. In the absence of extensive further information, I would not have voted to authorize the invasion of Iraq. I have yet to see any evidence of real justification for it and I believe there should be VERY high standard of proof to justify a declaration of war. I do believe that there are times and places where it is justified and necessary to go to war, but that these times and places are few and far between – which is why this power is reserved to the entire Congress in the Constitution, that it not be resorted to very easily or too hastily."

Dr. Richard Davis

2010 District 1 Congressional Candidate for The Maryland Libertarian Party