In U.S., Constitution Supersedes U.N. Charter – Law of the Land – NYTimes.com

To the Editor: The President may legally order United States troops to join a United Nations-sponsored military action in Iraq without a declaration of war from Congress. The members of Congress and commentators who argue otherwise ignore international law, specifically United States obligations under the United Nations Charter. Article 6 of the Constitution makes international treaties, including the United Nations Charter, part of the "supreme law of the land." The Charter is part of United States law, signed by the President and ratified by two-thirds vote of the Senate. Article 42 of the Charter provides authority for the Security Council to take military action and to authorize "operations by air, sea or land forces of members of the United Nations." Regarding Iraq, the Security Council has now done that. Articles 48 and 49 of the Charter require member nations to carry out decisions of the Security Council for the maintenance of international peace and security. The only other case when the Security Council authorized military action by United Nations members was in Korea in 1950. In Korea, as with Kuwait, Security Council resolutions recommended and authorized, but did not order, United Nations members to take military action to assist the Republic of Korea against armed attack. In Korea, Congress did not declare war. Yet hundreds of thousands of United States troops fought there as the United States carried out its United Nations obligations. Security Council Resolution 678 authorizes members of the United Nations to "use all necessary means," including armed force, to assist Kuwait in its defense against Iraq’s invasion. If Iraq does not withdraw from Kuwait, as it has been ordered to do by the Security Council, the United States will have legal authority to take military action. As in the Korean "police action," the United States will be acting under the United Nations Charter. To execute such United Nations-authorized police action, the President need not obtain the legal authority of a Congressional declaration of war. He already has such legal authority under the United Nations Charter, constitutionally part of the supreme law of the land. GREGORY STANTON Prof. of Law, Washington & Lee U. Lexington, Va., Dec. 18, 1990