Thank you. War is not a legal exercise, it is by its very nature an extra-legal action. It cannot be otherwise. War is the circumstance that exists when law is insufficient to the danger.
In a very real sense, as long as you are able to continue to operate within normal civil and criminal laws, you are not yet at war. Once, however, you recognize you are at war, you also recognize you must be prepared to take whatever actions are necessary to secure the country.
A declaration of war is not a decision to go to war, a declaration of war is recognition that a state of war exists, which is to say, that you are in a circumstance beyond what normal law can handle. We have been hesitant to face this, which is why our recent declarations of war have been so carefully worded as to hide the truth from our very eyes. A declaration of war puts everyone, citizens and foreigners alike, on notice that until further notice we will do whatever it takes to defeat the danger that faces us.
And that means, whatever it takes.
If Al Qaeda is calling you, we want to know about it, and you'd better be glad I'm not the one dealing with you.
I loved it when Murtha's withdrawal language was put into a resolution and got trounced.
That was fun. Do it again!
"...Two wartime Novembers ago, with national security — that is, their own safety — the defining campaign issue, they went to the polls in record numbers. This may be news to some, but upon considering in whose hands to place the weighty responsibility of defeating al Qaeda, they didn't elect the judges of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court."
So, lawyers don't rule planet earth after all? That's a relief!