[exodus]

To: exodus
"...Congress approved the use of the military in Afghanistan. They have yet to withdraw that approval, so your question is irrelevant.
# 231 by Luis Gonzalez

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By that kind of reasoning, our government can take any power not specifically denied to it in the Constitution. That's not true, Luis.

The President is REQUIRED by the un-Constitutional War Powers Act to withdraw all military forces at the end of 8 months.

We've been bombing Iraq almost daily since the end if the Gulf War, in violation of the War Powers Act .

[Luis Gonzalez]

"By that kind of reasoning, our government can take any power not specifically denied to it in the Constitution. That's not true, Luis."

No one took anything away from anyone.

The President, in his Constitutional role as Commander in Chief, has to look to Congress for the funding to conduct a military campaign. Should congress decide to issue a formal declaration of war, then, and by the very constitutional role as Commander In Chief, the president, and only the president, can declare a victory, and the situation secured.

Now, the constitution specifically says that only congress can declare war, but that does not mean that it required the President to wait for an Act of Congress to set out our fighters to intercept a fleet of ChiCom bombers on its way to California, and then to secure ourselves, nor does it say that the US military can ONLY be deployed in the event of a declared war.

You are arguing in favor of Saddam Hussein being able to violate a document he himself signed, because it took away his ability, as the leader of a sovereign nation, to provide for the defense of his nation?

And against the US having the ability to do whatever their constitutionally elected government does in order to secure the nation after an attack on our soil, because the Constitution does not allow it?