So what you are saying the is that the secretary of defense can send troops anywhere he wants to as long as the president approves it, even Iran?
and that those orders from the Secretary of Defense don’t come from the president since he is not in the chain of command because he only approves them...
Like when Truman only approved the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, he did not actually order it done he merely approved of it someone else was actually responsible for the order to drop the bomb...
The President has the authority under the AUMF to commit our forces to combat operations. If the President decides he wants to commit forces to Iran, he will stipulate how many he wants to commit. The Secretary of Defense then has the authority and responsibility under the law to deploy forces according to those committments.
From what I gather from Judge Lind, the Petagon and congress ordered Hiroshima bombs...Truman was just an innocent bystander. (;/