Quote:
Originally Posted by KatzPajamas
I'm not sure what I have backwards? I do know that the Executive branch of the United States of America must receive permission from the Legislative branch to declare war. I never learned about asking permission from another country or group of countries.
I'm not sure we have any business putting boots on the ground in Syria either. But that decision needs to be made internally by the proper chain of command as mentioned above.
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Exactly correct. Except that, even though I think the Constitution requires them to do so, no POTUS has obtained Congressional approval to go to war since WWII.
I guess I don't know how that happens, unless like Bill Clinton's definition of "is", presidents either don't call it "war", call it something else, don't actually declare war against another nation, or can't really identify a nation to attack (like the Viet Cong, al Quaeda or the Taliban). For whatever reason, all the president's since FDR have figured out a way around the Constitutional requirement...with no real objection from the Congress or the courts.
I suppose the argument could be made that Congress actually did authorize all the military actions undertaken by presidents since WWI as the result of them voting to fund them. But that seems like a weak way to justify the requirements of the Constitutuon, that are a whole lot clearer than that.