At Lawfare, CERL Faculty Director Claire Finkelstein and CERL Advisory Council member Geoffrey Corn argue that Operation Epic Fury is fundamentally distinct from Operations Midnight Hammer and Absolute Resolve, as well as from the previous attack on Iran and the operation in Venezuela. The current campaign clearly and definitively rises to the level of armed conflict that triggers the War Powers Resolution (WPR), they write. Even when the WPR conditions are met, presidents have historically been able to use Congressional inaction to infer Congressional support for military action. 

Claire Finkelstein is the Algernon Biddle Professor of Law and Professor of Philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania and the Faculty Director of the Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law. Read her bio here. 

Geoffrey S. Corn is the George R. Killam, Jr. Chair of Criminal Law and Director of the Center for Military Law and Policy at Texas Tech University School of Law. A retired U.S. Army Judge Advocate Officer, he served as the Army’s senior law of war advisor. He is also a member of the CERL Advisory Council. Read his bio here.    

The views expressed here are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of any organization or university.