On the other hand, if the US beleives that it is appropriate for us to initiate the use of force (Iraq, Libya, Grenada, etc.) then I think a Congressional Declaration of War should be mandatory. Get Congress behind the effort, or don't start the effort.
Related to that, I believe that all Wars should be fought to win. That means we kill people and we break things. Men, women, children -- sorry about the deaths, but we're here to win. Again, if we don't feel comfortable with that, then we should not declare the war and we should not start the fight.
Lastly, nuclear weapons should understood to be on the table at all times. When we delcare war, we should state that nuclear weapons will be used in the conflict if we deem it necessary. Don't like it? Want to fight with one arm tied behind your back? Then maybe we aren't serious about the conflict and maybe we should skip the Declaration and just stay home.
We won WWII, fighting against Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany simultaneously, and we did it in less than 4 years. There is absolutely no excuse for us to wage war for a longer period of time than that, unless we are losing and fighting for our lives. Fight to win. Make it quick, or stay home.
Very good post!! A non-declaration of war simply leads to a way for spineless Congressmen to back out if it doesn’t go as planned. But, as you said, if we went in with the strongest intention to win quick and get out, a FORMAL Declaration of War from the United States would MEAN something again.
Wars against the Barbary Pirates lasted fifteen years. The Indian Wars of the post Civil War era lasted twenty years. The The Moro Wars in the Philippines lasted twelve years. The Banana Wars in Central America went on for twenty years.
Our current actions are more like these examples, IMHO.