No. 2] The President's Constitutional Authority 489 "It is 'obvious and unarguable' that no governmental interest is more compelling than the security of the Nation." 6 Within the limits that the Constitution itself imposes, the scope and distribution of the powers to protect national security must be construed to authorize the most efficacious defense of the nation and its interests in accordance "with the realistic purposes of the entire instrument." 7 Nor is the authority to protect national security limited to actions necessary for "victories in the field." 8 The authority over national security "carries with it the inherent power to guard against the immediate renewal of the conflict." 9 A. Constitutional Text The text, structure, and history of the Constitution establish that the Founders entrusted the President with the primary responsibility, and therefore the power, to use military force in situations of emergency. Article II, Section 2 states that the "President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States."° He is further vested with all of "the executive Power" and the duty to execute the laws. These powers give the President broad constitutional authority to use military force in Rossiter ed., 1961) ("Security against foreign danger is one of the primitive objects of civil society.... The powers requisite for attaining it must be confided to the federal councils.'). Many Supreme Court opinions echo Hamilton's argument that the Constitution presupposes the indefinite and unpredictable nature of the "the circumstances which may affect the public safety," and that the federal government's powers are correspondingly broad. See, e.g., Dames & Moore v. Regan, 453 U.S. 654, 662 (1981) (noting that the President "exercis[es] the executive authority in a world that presents each day some new challenge with which he must deal'); Hamilton v. Regents, 293 U.S. 245, 264 (1934) (stating that the federal government's war powers are "well-nigh limitless" in extent); Stewart v. Kahn, 78 US. (11 Wall.) 493, 506 (1870) ("The measures to be taken in carrying on war... are not defined [in the Constitution]. The decision of all such questions rests wholly in the discretion of those to whom the substantial powers involved are confided by the Constitution.'); Miller v. United States, 78 U.S. (11 Wall.) 268, 305 (1870) ("The Constitution confers upon Congress expressly power to declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules respecting captures on land and water. Upon the exercise of these powers no restrictions are imposed. Of course the power to declare war involves the power to prosecute it by all means and in any manner in which war may be legitimately prosecuted."). 6. Haig v. Agee, 453 U.S. 280,307 (1981) (citation omitted). 7. Lichter v. United States, 334 US. 742, 782 (1948). 8. In re Yamashita, 327 U.S. 1,12 (1946). 9. Id. 10. US. CONST. art. II, § 2.
