“Enemy leaders are legitimate targets in war.”
Article 1, Section 8 of the United States Constitution states only Congress has the authority to declare war. The last declaration of War by the US Congress, against Japan and Germany occurred in December 1941. Those wars ended with peace treaties in 1945. Since then every war has been executed by the president without obtaining a declaration from Congress. Congress abdicated its authority and responsibility, or the president seized it, take your choice.
Throughout my lifetime the United States has been in a perpetual state of war, consuming trillions of taxpayer dollars and the blood of tens of thousands of American citizens. The American people have acquiesced to its leaders ignoring the Constitution. If war can be undertaken, without public debate, it is no wonder the Constitution is ignored daily by politicians, judges, and bureaucrats. If you swear an oath to uphold the Constitution you should follow it. If you don’t wish to follow it you have two options — 1) resign your position, 2) work to change it as provided for in the document itself. Continuously flouting the requirements of the Constitution essentially makes the nation lawless and subject to the arbitrary and momentary whims of whoever holds power at the time. Tyranny reigns, not freedom.
Problem is, when you fight your way in, you gotta fight your way out.