Quote:
Originally Posted by Ocala Mike
So the Constitution is just a set of "quaint suggestions" in your world? The President is Commander in Chief of the military, no more and no less. Nothing in the document about his power to initiate war.
This is not a partisan issue, by the way.
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Here ya go. Bold by me:
https://aclj.org/national-security/w...ional-approval
Article I, Section 8, Clause 11 of the U.S. Constitution grants Congress the power to declare war.
The President, meanwhile, derives the power to direct the military at all times, whether or not there is a formal declaration of war, from Article II, Section 2, which names the President Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.
The President’s constitutional powers are quite broad in the context of limited military action. Additionally, courts have long upheld the President’s right to be the sole voice of the nation, in charge of conducting our foreign policy. In general, constitutional powers are not so much separated as "linked and sequenced"; Congress's control over the armed forces is structured by appropriation and provision, while the President commands all military forces.
In short, here are the President’s powers as Commander in Chief:
He can order U.S. forces into military action if, in his judgment, the safety or strategic interests of the United States are threatened. Period.
He must inform Congress of these actions within 48 hours of the event.
The troops cannot be committed for more than 60 days, without Congressional approval. He may use an additional 30 days to re-deploy the troops.
Until a new Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) is passed by Congress, our last three presidents have all used the AUMF passed after 9/11/2001 as broad permission to fight all terror groups and acts of terror, anywhere in the world. This is the justification for the thousands of troops presently deployed to Iraq and Syria, and for other Special Operations missions in places like Somalia and Yemen.
