I agree. However, all this gets back to the fact that we should have had a declaration of war on Iraq and Afghanistan. The fact is that we went to war with them. For some reason, however, it has been decided that we don't declare war anymore.
Had we done a DOW, my guess would be that Bush would have firmer ground to stand on here, and it would be harder for the democraps to complain about the wars, given that they would have voted to declare war.
That is an interesting point about not declaring war. Probably, the "powers that be" believe that a declaration of war is only fitting when there is a all out, unreserved and unapologetic war against a nation, not when we are simply "rooting out terrorists" or "liberating" a nation from a tyrant. When we declared war on Japan and Germany, there was not talk of "liberating" the people of Japan and Germany, as far as I know.
Good point but the congress gave him the blank check when they authorized the President to,"do everything necessary to prevent further attacks". If their authorization was given in the passion of the moment then they should just accept it then amend their authorization not try to backtrack saying they never gave it.
I don't know where people get this idea. We DID declare war.
There is no 'template' in the Constitution for a Declaration of War. Instead, it specifies a.) that only Congress can commit the military and b.) the President is its sole Commander-in-Chief.
Both of these conditions have been met, complete with specific reference to the President's powers under the War Powers Act.