[schmelvin]

Exactly which nation would you have Congress declared war against? Because that is what Congress does, it declares war against nations. Comments?

Congress declared war on the Barbary Pirates. They were not a nation. They were very similar to modern terrorists.

[Texasforever]

Congress did not declare war on the Barbary Pirates see discussion Here

[Polybius]

Congress declared war on the Barbary Pirates. They were not a nation. They were very similar to modern terrorists.

Wrong. Congress did not declare war during the Barbary War precisely because they were pirates and not a sovereign nation.

I documented that in Post #324.

In the Barbary War, Congress passed an authorization for the use of force. That is exactly what Congress has done in this case.

[JD86]

"Congress did not actually declare war on the pirates," Turley wrote in a memo, "but 'authorized' the use of force against the regencies after our bribes and ransoms were having no effect. This may have been due to an appreciation that a declaration of war on such petty tyrants would have elevated their status. Accordingly, they were treated as pirates and, after a disgraceful period of accommodation, we hunted them down as pirates."

But let's not quibble about a two-bit war like the Barbary War. How about the bloodiest war in American history the Civil War; not "The Civil Time of Emergency" but "The Civil War".

Even in the Civil War, the United States of America never declared war on the Confederate States of America because the United States did not consider the Confederate States to be a sovereign nation.

See#324 for more. exodus has been given the answer...he just doesn't like it.

[lepton]

Congress declared war on the Barbary Pirates. They were not a nation. They were very similar to modern terrorists.

A+bert actually led me to this: No, we didn't but it was understood to be an official war nonetheless, and Congress specifically authorized monies to fight the war. As example, see the war history of the USS Constitution. The battles she fought against the French in the Quasi-war were considered analogous to police Actions. The battles against the Barbary Pirates, part of official War.