![\"Iranians](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dougsbriefcase.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Credit-the-guardian.jpg\")
<\/a>Ira\u00adni\u00adans cel\u00ade\u00adbrat\u00aded a deal to lift sanc\u00adtions against their nation. The agree\u00adment is less pop\u00adu\u00adlar in the U.S. Con\u00adgress, but that hard\u00adly mat\u00adters. [Cred\u00adit: The Guardian]<\/p><\/div>Three thou\u00adsand years have passed since a shep\u00adherd<\/a>-turned-war hero<\/a>-turned-ter\u00adror\u00adist<\/a>-turned-king<\/a> cap\u00adtured an obscure city<\/a> sit\u00adu\u00adat\u00aded on a hill 34 miles inland from the Mediterranean.\n David, Israel\u2019s sec\u00adond king, would estab\u00adlish his cap\u00adi\u00adtal in that city whose name is every bit as inapt as Philadel\u00adphia (city of broth\u00ader\u00adly love) or Los Ange\u00adles (city of angels). Jerusalem, David\u2019s cho\u00adsen cap\u00adi\u00adtal, means \u201ccity of peace.\u201d<\/p>\n It has more often been a city of con\u00adtention, war and strife. The rever\u00adber\u00ada\u00adtions from that ongo\u00ading dis\u00adcord reached the Supreme Court last month in a case that car\u00adries impli\u00adca\u00adtions for whether the U.S. will con\u00adtin\u00adue to be gov\u00aderned as a Repub\u00adlic or ruled by a king.<\/p>\n The case\u2019s roots are pro\u00adsa\u00adic enough, buried in sub\u00adsec\u00adtion 214(d) of the For\u00adeign Rela\u00adtions Autho\u00adriza\u00adtion Act of 2003<\/a>. That pro\u00advi\u00adsion estab\u00adlish\u00ades that a child born in Jerusalem to Amer\u00adi\u00adcan par\u00adents can list Israel as her place of birth on her U.S. passport.<\/p>\n That des\u00adig\u00adna\u00adtion is hard\u00adly innocu\u00adous. Jerusalem\u2019s polit\u00adi\u00adcal sta\u00adtus is less clear-cut than in David\u2019s time. Israel estab\u00adlished con\u00adtrol of West Jerusalem dur\u00ading the war that marked the Jew\u00adish state\u2019s rebirth. It cap\u00adtured East Jerusalem, which includes sites that hold pro\u00adfound sig\u00adnif\u00adi\u00adcance for each of the world\u2019s great monothe\u00adis\u00adtic reli\u00adgions, dur\u00ading the Six-Day War of 1967. And though the Knes\u00adset has for\u00admal\u00adly denot\u00aded Jerusalem, \u201ccom\u00adplete and unit\u00aded<\/a>,<\/span>\u201d as its cap\u00adi\u00adtal city, no coun\u00adtry main\u00adtains an embassy there<\/a>.<\/p>\n The U.S. does not rec\u00adog\u00adnize any gov\u00adern\u00adment as hav\u00ading sov\u00ader\u00adeign\u00adty over Jerusalem (Opin\u00adion of the Court, p. 3<\/em>). As a con\u00adse\u00adquence, the State Depart\u00adment pro\u00adhibits U.S. cit\u00adi\u00adzens born in Jerusalem from list\u00ading Israel as the coun\u00adtry of their birth. That pol\u00adi\u00adcy direct\u00adly con\u00adflicts with sub\u00adsec\u00adtion 214(d), thus pro\u00advok\u00ading the case<\/a> of Men\u00adachem Binyamin Ziv\u00adotof\u00adsky v. John Ker\u00adry<\/em>.<\/p>\n Ziv\u00adotof\u00adsky was born in Jerusalem. His par\u00adents asked that his pass\u00adport list Israel as his coun\u00adtry of birth. The State Depart\u00adment refused, cit\u00ading its For\u00adeign Affairs Man\u00adu\u00adal<\/a>,<\/span> which requires that Ziv\u00adotof\u00adsky\u2019s pass\u00adport list his birth\u00adplace as Jerusalem. His par\u00adents sued, argu\u00ading that sub\u00adsec\u00adtion 214(d) requires that the depart\u00adment accede to their request.<\/p>\n Six jus\u00adtices vot\u00aded to uphold the State Depart\u00adment pol\u00adi\u00adcy, strik\u00ading down sub\u00adsec\u00adtion 214(d) as an uncon\u00adsti\u00adtu\u00adtion\u00adal exer\u00adcise of Con\u00adgres\u00adsion\u00adal pow\u00ader. The Court held that Arti\u00adcle II<\/span><\/a> of the Con\u00adsti\u00adtu\u00adtion con\u00adfers \u201cexclu\u00adsive\u201d and \u201ccon\u00adclu\u00adsive\u201d pow\u00ader on the Pres\u00adi\u00addent to grant for\u00admal recog\u00adni\u00adtion to a for\u00adeign sov\u00ader\u00adeign. Since the Pres\u00adi\u00addent has not for\u00admal\u00adly rec\u00adog\u00adnized Jerusalem as part of Israel, Con\u00adgress had no author\u00adi\u00adty to enact a con\u00adtra\u00adven\u00ading pol\u00adi\u00adcy. Thus did six jus\u00adtices give more force to a State Depart\u00adment man\u00adu\u00adal than to an Act of Congress.<\/p>\n The dis\u00adsenters argued that sub\u00adsec\u00adtion 214(d) has noth\u00ading at all to do with grant\u00adi\u00adng for\u00admal recog\u00adni\u00adtion. Pass\u00adports do not declare that Jerusalem belongs to the State of Israel. They mere\u00adly cer\u00adti\u00adfy their hold\u00aders as U.S. cit\u00adi\u00adzens, whether by birth or nat\u00adu\u00adral\u00adiza\u00adtion. Since Arti\u00adcle I grants Con\u00adgress pow\u00ader to \u201cestab\u00adlish a uni\u00adform rule of nat\u00adu\u00adral\u00adiza\u00adtion,\u201d law\u00admak\u00aders have a long-rec\u00adog\u00adnized author\u00adi\u00adty relat\u00ading to pass\u00adports. That author\u00adi\u00adty, the dis\u00adsenters main\u00adtained, extends to enact\u00ading laws that per\u00admit Ziv\u00adotof\u00adsky to have Israel record\u00aded as his coun\u00adtry of birth on his pass\u00adport. Such des\u00adig\u00adna\u00adtion, the dis\u00adsenters wrote, does not encroach on the President\u2019s author\u00adi\u00adty to rec\u00adog\u00adnize for\u00adeign gov\u00adern\u00adments since \u201cmak\u00ading a nota\u00adtion on a pass\u00adport or birth report does not encum\u00adber the repub\u00adlic with any inter\u00adna\u00adtion\u00adal oblig\u00ada\u00adtions\u201d (Dis\u00adsent, p. 6<\/em>).<\/p>\n The case rep\u00adre\u00adsents a vic\u00adto\u00adry for the Oba\u00adma Admin\u00adis\u00adtra\u00adtion, but less sweep\u00ading than it had sought<\/a>. The White House want\u00aded more \u2014 a broad dec\u00adla\u00adra\u00adtion from the Court that the Pres\u00adi\u00addent alone, unfet\u00adtered by Con\u00adgress, can exer\u00adcise vir\u00adtu\u00adal\u00adly all for\u00adeign affairs pow\u00aders. The jus\u00adtices were unan\u00adi\u00admous in reject\u00ading the government\u2019s auda\u00adcious asser\u00adtion that the Pres\u00adi\u00addent has \u201cexclu\u00adsive author\u00adi\u00adty to con\u00adduct diplo\u00admat\u00adic rela\u00adtions,\u201d along with \u201cthe bulk of for\u00adeign-affairs pow\u00aders\u201d (Opin\u00adion of the Court, p. 16<\/em>). \u201cThis Court,\u201d the opin\u00adion states, \u201cdeclines to acknowl\u00adedge that unbound\u00aded power.\u201d<\/p>\n The Oba\u00adma Admin\u00adis\u00adtra\u00adtion nev\u00ader\u00adthe\u00adless con\u00adtin\u00adues to exert some\u00adthing approach\u00ading unbound\u00aded pow\u00ader in for\u00adeign affairs. What\u00adev\u00ader one thinks of the sub\u00adstance of the Iran nuclear deal, its process should trou\u00adble any\u00adone who believes in con\u00adsti\u00adtu\u00adtion\u00adal gov\u00ader\u00adnance. Though the agree\u00adment func\u00adtions very much as a treaty, the Pres\u00adi\u00addent has refused to sub\u00admit it to the Sen\u00adate for rat\u00adi\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtion. Instead, his gov\u00adern\u00adment bypassed Capi\u00adtol Hill and brought the deal direct\u00adly to Tur\u00adtle Bay, where the UN<\/span> Secu\u00adri\u00adty Coun\u00adcil rat\u00adi\u00adfied<\/a> it, thus set\u00adting in motion the lift\u00ading of eco\u00adnom\u00adic sanc\u00adtions against Iran. The Pres\u00adi\u00addent ful\u00adly intends to imple\u00adment the agree\u00adment with\u00adout Con\u00adgres\u00adsion\u00adal approval and even \u2014 should it come to that \u2014 in defi\u00adance of a Con\u00adgres\u00adsion\u00adal res\u00ado\u00adlu\u00adtion of disapproval.<\/p>\n \u201c<\/span>Before this coun\u00adtry declared inde\u00adpen\u00addence,\u201d Jus\u00adtice Scalia began his dis\u00adsent, \u201cthe law of Eng\u00adland entrust\u00aded the King with the exclu\u00adsive care of his kingdom\u2019s for\u00adeign affairs.\u201d The Founders, Scalia con\u00adtin\u00adued, \u201chad oth\u00ader ideas when they orga\u00adnized our gov\u00adern\u00adment,\u201d adopt\u00ading a Con\u00adsti\u00adtu\u00adtion that \u201cdivides respon\u00adsi\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adty for the nation\u2019s for\u00adeign con\u00adcerns between the leg\u00adisla\u00adtive and exec\u00adu\u00adtive departments.\u201d<\/p>\n Some 226 years lat\u00ader, for\u00adeign pol\u00adi\u00adcy is increas\u00ading\u00adly con\u00adduct\u00aded in ways that would be more famil\u00adiar to King David and George III<\/span> than to Madi\u00adson or Hamil\u00adton. Congress\u2019s role in for\u00adeign affairs has been effaced and risks extinction.<\/p>\n Revers\u00ading this trend will be among the next President\u2019s most urgent challenges.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Three thou\u00adsand years have passed since a shep\u00ad\u00adherd-turned-war hero-turned-ter\u00adror\u00adist-turned-king cap\u00adtured an obscure city sit\u00adu\u00adat\u00aded on a hill 34 miles inland from the Mediter\u00adranean. David, Israel\u2019s sec\u00adond king, would estab\u00adlish his cap\u00adi\u00adtal in that city whose name is every bit as inapt as Philadel\u00adphia \u2026 Con\u00adtin\u00adue read\u00ading