Not since WWII have we declared war, but it has been weighing on me that perhaps we ought to revert back to the Constitutional model and not undertake major actions without a congressional declaration of war. I know that is unlikely to happen, as the constitution has been ignored since WWII and we have been more or less at war every few years since then....even so, it might be a good idea. Once congress declares war, then it is not the President's War. Is is both parties' war. The American people will be much more likely to get behind and stay behind that sort of effort. What we have here is sort of the worst of all possible worlds.
How do you think this would have changed things? The Democrats overwhelming supported action against Iraq. At the first sign of trouble they ended up shrieking like the Nancy Boys they are. I can't believe they would have stood behind a declaration of war any more than they did the vote for regime change or military action in Iraq. I think a declaration of war would just make Conservatives feeeeeeel better. It wouldn't at all make Democrats act better.
I have thought since 9/12/2001 that Congress should have been convinced by GWB to formally declare war against every entity on the State Dept.'s Designated Terrorist List, as well as their state and private supporters both here and abroad.
The list includes organizations such as Shining Path and the Tamil Tigers, but we would have taken no requisite obligation to attack them while maintaining a national and international focus on smashing all of the Muslim Nazis from the very outset.
The Constitution places no particular limits on who or what may be the target of a formal Declaration Of War.
There's just one problem. War's become too politicized for that to work. Unless a party holds both the House and The Presidency, there'll only be endless political hoohah over going to war. It would probably only make going to war even more of a political headache.
I agree. When critters can hide behind the fact that they only voted to "authorize" the President's actions, instead of explicitly declaring war, they can then speak as if the President dropped the ball and its all on his shoulders.
Nah - these rat clowns would still oppose the war that they originally supported.
In the history of the US, counting instances of the use of military force, there have been more times that war was not declared than when it was.
In fact our first go round with the Muzzies was not a declared war. But we kicke their ass anyway. (Barbary Pirates, who were really more akin to Privateers operating under the protection of the local governments, such as they were, along the southern Mediterranian coast).