Senate candidate Bengs condemns unconditional and illegal actions in Venezuela, avoidance of responsibility by Congress
As a retired Air Force judge advocate (JAG) who taught the Law of War at the NATO School and the U.S. Air Force Academy, I made sure my students knew the difference between strength and lawlessness. What’s happening in Venezuela is a blatant violation of international law and a dangerous offense against the U.S. Constitution.
The text of the Constitution is clear: Only Congress has the power to declare war. The Founders designed this so a president acting alone could not commit us all to an armed conflict costing untold American lives and treasure. When our military is directed to cross international borders, capture foreign heads-of-state, or use armed force against anyone, it must do so lawfully, transparently, and with congressional authorization. Anything less erodes the rule of law we supposedly support and defend.
As a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel, I want to stress that America has already learned, at enormous cost, the lesson of forever wars. Decades of open-ended conflict have drained lives, resources, and trust. There is broad agreement across this country that we do not want another. Lawless actions abroad are exactly how endless wars begin: without debate, without accountability, and without a clear end.
What is most disturbing is the silence — and worse, the complicity — of elected officials who know better. Sen. Mike Rounds, a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has abandoned his oath by refusing to defend Congress’s war powers and the constitutional order he swore to uphold. This not only endangers American service members and invites international chaos, it normalizes illegality at the highest levels of government.
South Dakotans believe in the rule of law. We believe that neither foreign strongmen nor American politicians are above it. If we are going to hold foreign dictators accountable, we must also hold ourselves to the law. Anything else is rank hypocrisy starting us on a path that betrays our Constitution and our values.
Brian Bengs is an enlisted U.S. Navy veteran and retired U.S. Air Force officer. He has lived and worked all over the U.S. and the world but now calls Aberdeen home. He previously taught an array of law and policy topics at the U.S. Air Force Academy, International Institute of Humanitarian Law, NATO School Oberammergau, and Northern State University. Bengs was the 2022 Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate and is running as an independent in the 2026 campaign.
Photo: Watching the Venezuela strike from Mar-a-Lago, public domain, wikimedia commons
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