April 14, 2017
Can Trump continue to engage in acts of war without congressional approval? And how far can he go?
Last week, a chemical weapons attack in a Syrian town killed more than 70 men, women, and children. As a result, the Trump administration took action against Syria, launching 59 cruise missiles from two Navy destroyers in the Mediterranean targeting a Syrian military airfield. The attack was quickly denounced by Syria and by Russia — a country that is an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Since the attack, many questions have come up about Trump’s foreign policy approach. Some have praised, and some have criticized the administration's quick decision to act in Syria. Others are struck by our increasingly hostile stance toward Russia.
To get to the heart of these issues, I talked to The Post’s national security reporter Dan Lamothe for this week’s episode of “Can He Do That?” Dan explains what constitutes an act of war and what goes into military decision making.
We also talk to Nora Bensahel, a distinguished scholar in residence at American University’s School of International Service, about when a president has the authority to unilaterally wage war. And Loren Schulman, former senior advisor to National Security Advisor Susan Rice and current fellow at the Center for a New American Security, about the implications of Trump's action for foreign policy and national security.
Listen below or at The Washington Post.
More from CNAS
-
Bombshell: Come What May
Podcast
Erin, Radha, and Loren invited Dr. Lindsay Cohn of the U.S. Naval War College to join their posse and explain America’s history of employing the military for domestic purposes...
By Loren DeJonge Schulman, Lindsay Cohn, Radha Iyengar & Erin Simpson
-
Loren DeJonge Schulman on The Smell of Victory Podcast
Podcast
On The Smell of Victory Podcast, Bob Hein and Phil Walter sat down with Loren DeJonge Schulman of the Center for a New American Security to discuss the draft. Listen to the f...
By Loren DeJonge Schulman
-
Susanna V. Blume on Defense & Aerospace Report Podcast
Podcast
On this Roundtable episode of the Defense & Aerospace Report Podcast, sponsored by Bell, a Textron company, our guests include Bob Hale,(who now advises Booz Allen Hamilton &m...
By Susanna V. Blume
-
CNAS’ Colby on Nuclear Strategy, Deterrence, Developing New Capabilities, INF Treaty
Video
Bridge Colby, the former deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy and force planning — one of the authors of the Pentagon’s National Defense Strategy — n...
By Elbridge Colby
