Where Is Our Daniel Ellsberg?

For more articles, visit TheCerfReport.comHistorical sources:Truman's commitment of U.S. forces to Korea, June 25-30, 1950: Council on Foreign Relations, "TWE Remembers: Truman's Decision to Intervene in Korea"; Lawfare, "The Korea War Powers Precedent"; Truman Library, "The United Nations in Korea"Truman "police action" press conference, June 29, 1950: Honor Flight Chicago, "June 27, 1950: Truman calls for police action"Truman's legal theory (UN Charter, UN Participation Act, Security Council resolutions as authorization): Louis Fisher, "The Korean War: On What Legal Basis Did Truman Act?"; Mary L. Dudziak, "The Gloss of War: Revisiting the Korean War's Legacy," 122 Mich. L. Rev. 149 (2023)John Foster Dulles testimony, UN Charter ratification hearings, 1945: U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign RelationsUN Participation Act of 1945, Pub. L. No. 79-264, 22 U.S.C. § 287dSenator Robert Taft's "usurpation" floor speech, June 28, 1950: 96 Cong. Rec. 9319-23; Constitution Annotated, "International Police Action and the Korean War"Korean War casualty figures (36,000+ U.S. military deaths, 2.5+ million total): Congressional Research Service, "American War and Military Operations Casualties"U.S. aid to France in Indochina, 1947-1954: U.S. State Department, Foreign Relations of the United States, 1950, Volume VI; Pentagon Papers, "Aid for France in Indochina, 1950-54"Pentagon Papers history and contents: Richard Nixon Presidential Library, "50th Anniversary of the Release of the Pentagon Papers"New York Times Co. v. United States, 403 U.S. 713 (1971)Daniel Ellsberg, Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers (2002)Fielding break-in, September 1971: Miller Center, University of Virginia, "Nixon and the Pentagon Papers"Ellsberg quote on congressional abdication: public statements and writings on war powers, late careerContemporary sources:Iran strikes, February 28, 2026: NPR, "Iran strikes were launched without approval from Congress" (March 1, 2026); TIME, "After Iran Strikes, Congress Confronts Its Limited Power Over War" (March 2, 2026)Senate war powers vote, March 4, 2026: National Constitution Center, "Does the War Powers Resolution debate take on a new context in the Iran conflict?" (March 2026)60-day War Powers Resolution clock and ceasefire claim: CNN Politics, "The law sets a 60-day limit on unauthorized wars. The US is blowing past it in Iran" (April 25, 2026)Cost estimates and Pew survey: Close Up Foundation, "Should Congress Prohibit Federal Funding for the War in Iran?" (April 2026); Center for Strategic and International StudiesKaine-Paul resolution, Massie-Khanna resolution, Sanders S.2087 (No War Against Iran Act): Congress.gov; TIME (March 2026)Constitutional reference:U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 8, Clause 11 (Declare War Clause); Article I, Section 8, Clause 12 (two-year army appropriation limit)Federalist No. 26 (Hamilton on the two-year appropriation requirement)War Powers Resolution of 1973, 50 U.S.C. §§ 1541-1548 Get full access to The Cerf Report at thecerfreport.substack.com/subscribe