Posted on 04/10/2017 10:20:59 AM PDT by Sean_Anthony
President can, legally, use the military in combat operations (including sending Tomahawk missiles into an airfield in Syria) without congressional approval, or even letting them know he's going to do so in the first place
There has been a lot of discussion about whether or not the attack on an airfield by American Tomahawk missiles in early April of 2017 was a constitutional action by President Donald J. Trump, despite the fact that the military action occurred prior to the President receiving some kind of congressional approval for it.
50 U.S. Code § 1541 - WAR POWERS RESOLUTION, Purpose and policy
(c) Presidential executive power as Commander-in-Chief; limitation
The constitutional powers of the President as Commander-in-Chief to introduce United States Armed Forces into hostilities, or into situations where imminent involvement in hostilities is clearly indicated by the circumstances, are exercised only pursuant to (1) a declaration of war, (2) specific statutory authorization, or (3) a national emergency created by attack upon the United States, its territories or possessions, or its armed forces.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/50/chapter-33
I think conservatives need to be very cautious in supporting this unconstitutional distortion of the founding fathers’ desire that decisions of war and peace are to be deliberated carefully by Congress and not be made upon the whims and emotions of one man. Take care, because one day the imperial president of the moment may be a left wing ideologue who may already have us in a irreversable, wicked and destructive war before he must notify Congress.
I don’t think the launch of missiles into Syria was legal or appropriate.
We certainly would not want to injure or kill any Russian in Syria.
We need Russia’s help and military facilities in the war to deal with Middle Eastern sourced terrorism.
Certainly talks with Russia are in order to deal with the Assad/Syrian problems.
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