And anybody knows that if the person authorizing the troop surge is not Constitutionally able to “act as President” the troop surge is just as unlawful as invading Iran.
The AUMF gave “the President” the authority to use force in the war on terrorism, as the War Powers Act authorizes Congress to do. So the lawful authorization for the use of force absolutely hinges on the decision of “the President”. Someone who is not able to “act as President” can not make that decision.
Unless someone who is able to “act as President” gives the authorization, the surge is just as unlawful as an unauthorized invasion of Iran.
The fact that an unauthorized invasion of Iran would be immediately recognized by all as unlawful just means that it’s crazy for people to say Lakin can’t decide for himself which orders are lawful, that he’d have to have a ruling by a court before he could know which orders were lawful, or that presidential authorization is irrelevant.
When people say that the case of Iran would be so obvious it just reveals how obvious it should be if an unconstitutional usurper pretended to authorize combat operations. For Lind to say it doesn’t even matter? That is so beyond the pale it’s beyond words.
Unless and until he's ruled ineligible by the Judiciary (the branch of government responsible for interpreting the Constitution) or impeached, convicted, and removed from office by Congress (the branch of government responsible for removing a sitting President,) the military must, by law, accept Obama as the legal President and Commander in Chief.
When Congress passes a law that we believe is unconstitutional, we work through the Judiciary to have it overturned. We don't just disregard the law because we believe it's unconstitutional. We're bound by the law unless and until it is overturned. The same concept applies to Obama's eligibility.
We're a nation of laws. If you would have the military interpret the Constitution on their own rather than the Judiciary, then you don't respect the very Constitution that you claim to defend.