President Bush delivers his State of the Union address tonight where he is expected to re-state his intention to escalate the war by adding over 21,000 troops to Iraq, regardless of whether Congress supports him or not. However constitutional law experts say Congress has the power to cap the number of soldiers sent to fight and to limit the use of appropriated funds for the war. [includes rush transcript]

Congressional Democrats and Republicans have already spoken out against the President's plan. Yesterday, Republican Senator John Warner, a member of the Armed Services Committee, who until recently, had been a staunch supporter of the war, announced plans to introduce a resolution calling escalation “a mistake.” Some have questioned whether Congress has the legal constitutional authority to affect the plans implementation.

Recently, 21 legal scholars from law schools around the nation wrote a letter to the House and Senate leadership arguing that Congress does have the constitutional authority to limit the scope of the war. According to the scholars, Congress not only has the power to cap the number of soldiers sent to fight but also to limit the use of appropriated funds for the war.

• David Golove, New York University law professor who specializes in executive power issues. He teaches constitutional and international law, and is the Hiller Family Foundation Professor of Law at NYU School of Law. He serves on the Executive Committee of the NYU Institute for International Law and Justice. He is one of the signatories of the letter to congressional leaders.