If the US Congress deals with Obama’s proposal responsibly, and does not yield to those motivated by a partisan desire to embarrass him at every turn, it will enhance its own claim to recapture the constitutional power to authorize military conflict – a power that has been disregarded more often than not in the past half-century. A critical part of its role must be to consider with care the limits that should be placed on a punitive strike.
巴沙尔政权使用化学武器的罪行是毋庸置疑的。如果美国国会负责任地考虑奥巴马的计划，而不是屈服于次次让他难堪的党派私利，那么就能增强其夺回宪法权力授权军事冲突的立场——在过去半个世纪中，这一权力往往遭受削弱而不是增强。这一角色的一个关键部分是谨慎考虑惩罚性打击的界线。