While i disagree with your over all summation, your example is a classic case of the congress authorizing military force instead of declaring war.
There are some debatable differences of course. The barbary pirates had 300 american marines held hostage, so it was a rescue mission as opposed to an invasion per se.
A neat quote.
Thomas Jefferson argued that conceding the ransom would only encourage more attacks (”Millions For Defense, Not One Cent For Tribute”).
That falls well in line with my beliefs.
Semantics. The definiton of “authorize” and “declare” are not at odds.