[Seizure]

Article I, Section 8:

"The Congress shall have the power to...declare war..."

Odd, I do not see the word "make", which is what a preemptive strike is in action and nature.

Here is my concern. Since we have deemed it necessary to preemptively strike those we feel are a threat to us, should we be surprised when a nation preemptively strikes us because it feels that the United States is a threat to its sovereignty and safety? They would have precedent, thanks to the United States, to support their action.

[justshutupandtakeit]

You have zeroed in on one of the problems. While Congress certainly was given the power to "declare" war there was no restriction upon the Executive's use of the Armed Forces other than the limiting of an appropriation to two years. And we can see that the Army was used to fight Indians with no such declaration nor was there one for Korea or Vietnam. Though there was empowering legislation just not called a Declaration of War.

Nations which believe they could get away with it could launch a preemptive strike before or after the Bush Doctrine. That really did not change that point. Bush was really speaking of those who allow terrorist attacks against us from their territory. In the case of Iraq there were numerous attacks aided and abetted by Saddam both here (WTC 1) and aboard (attacks on our planes, an attempt to assassinate Bush 1, training provided for terrorists at Salman Pak, coordination with OBL in Somolia and the Sudan). All this meant we really were NOT pre-empting anything but were responding to past events.