Invading Iraq After 9/11 Is Like Invading Mexico After Pearl Harbor

[Good Doctor HST]

Presidents have declared war on Germany, Japan; Korea; and Vietnam without Congress's prior approval. They just go with the flow. Include Desert Storm too. Congress surrendered wartime decisions to the Executive Branch. I honestly don't know the logistics; I just know what I've seen on the internet and different books.

Or, check out this from MSN Encarta on who can declare war:

"The president of the United States has no clear constitutional authority to declare war without congressional approval. However, the U.S. Supreme Court has determined that the president, as commander-in-chief of the military, does have the authority to recognize a "state of war" initiated against the United States and may in these circumstances unilaterally send U.S. troops into battle. President Bush has also stated that his powers as commander-in-chief allow him to act independently in defense of the nation.

The president did not seek a formal declaration of war from Congress. But he did seek congressional support, he said, to demonstrate to the United Nations and to the world that military action against Iraq was not just his own objective; it was a view supported by the American electorate as a whole. Strategically, support from the legislators bolstered the president's case as he pressed the UN Security Council for a resolution authorizing military force in Iraq."

......Um..... can somebody say dictatorial powers?

[Gold9472]

Did you see what I posted on the previous page?

[Gold9472]

Heh... I think we got our information from the same place...

[Gold9472]

Does what the Supreme Court say supercede the actual law?

[Gold9472]

The Supreme Court stated VERY recently that they didn't want to overturn the law in regards to Medicinal Marijuana because it was Congress' responsibility...

[Good Doctor HST]

It looks like a dangerous precedent was set during the Korean War, when Dean Acheson convinced jelly-spine Truman that the U.N. was the way to go in securing war with North Korea, instead of Congress. Congress finally let the Executives run things, and we've never looked back.

[Gold9472]

But I thought the law I just posted said the President can only declare "war" for 60 days, and then needs to seek Congress' approval?

[Good Doctor HST]

The Supreme Court stated VERY recently that they didn't want to overturn the law in regards to Medicinal Marijuana because it was Congress' responsibility...

Neither side wants to look bad. Therefore, blame must be squarely placed anywhere besides whoever's placing said blame.

[Gold9472]

Neither side wants to look bad. Therefore, blame must be squarely placed anywhere besides whoever's placing said blame.

Right... but I'm saying that what's good for one law isn't good for another... they're being hypocritical.

[Good Doctor HST]

But I thought the law I just posted said the President can only declare "war" for 60 days, and then needs to seek Congress' approval?

Answer to your question, from CNN archives:

How do they do it (declare war)? They issue a report "consistent with" the resolution rather than "pursuant to" it, and claim that whatever actions they have so far taken have not triggered the 60 day grace period. They maintain, in short, that a war is not a war in order to bypass the statute.
While Presidents acknowledge the War Powers Resolution's existence, none have conceded its constitutionality -- because to concede it would be to limit their own power and increase that of Congress. And the federal judiciary has avoided becoming part of this political struggle between its co-equal branches -- leaving presidents to do what they like, without having to appear before any court other than that of public opinion to justify their actions.