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Congress, The Constitution, and First Use of Nuclear Weapons*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 August 2009

Abstract

This article analyzes the constitutional problems of “first use” of nuclear weapons. Its organizing principle is that Congress has a constitutional duty to ensure such control over nuclear weapons that first use (and first strike) is proscribed. After demonstrating that the Constitution requires collective decisionmaking in important policy decisions, it is recommended that Congress retrieve its delegated power over nuclear weaponry, and also establish a “council of state” within the office of the presidency with which the president must consult before taking important decisions, including those involving nuclear warfare. The council would take a sober “first look” at proposed policies, but the ultimate responsibility would be the president's.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © University of Notre Dame 1986

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References

Notes

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81 Youngstown, note 22 above.

82 Ford, D., The Button: The Pentagon's Command and Control System—Does It Work? (1985), p. 121 and passim.Google Scholar

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92 Statement of Dr. Clifford Johnson, in first draft of article for San Francisco Barrister club, July 1985, pp. 6–7.

93 See Brief for Appellee in Johnson v. Weinberger, note 88 above.

94 Letter from Gary Chapman to Clifford Johnson, dated 11 April 1985, reproduced in appellant's reply brief. The chairman of the Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility, Severo M. Ornstein, is on record as writing: “In all but the simplest computer programs, hidden design flaws can persist, sometimes for years, even though the system seems to work perfectly. Such flaws are revealed only when the system meets a particular set of unforeseen circumstances, at which point the system may suddenly behave erratically. There exist no known methods for eliminating this uncertainty in complex computer systems. To the extent that significant decision making is handled by computers, such design flaws will contribute to inappropriate actions. In particular, a completely automated procedure for deciding to launch missiles that does not allow time for meaningful human deliberation and intervention poses the risk of an accidental launch.” Appendix to appellant's opening brief (ibid.). See Steinbruner, , “Launch Under Attack,” Scientific American, 250 (1984)CrossRefGoogle Scholar: “… the idea of launch under attack is best seen … as a symptom of perilous security conditions that demand more thought than they have yet received” (pp. 37,47).

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98 42 U.S. Code 2121 is an apparent unfettered delegation of power. See Ford, , The Button, p. 143.Google Scholar

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100 Discussions of this statute may be found in Davis, , Administrative Law Treatise, chap. 3Google Scholar; Schubert, , “The Presidential Subdelegation Act of 1950,” Journal of Politics, 13 (1951), 647.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

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102 3 U.S. Code Annotated 1072–73.

103 See note 94.