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It’s horrible that the president can start a war without even asking congress.
by dj_gitmo 1y ago
It’s horrible that the president can start a war without even asking congress.
- awongh 1y agoThis hasn't been a rule since WWII?
- sealeck 1y agoI'm not even American and I know that this act was passed after the Vietnam War: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Powers_Resolution https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Powers_Resolution
- kelnos 1y ago> The War Powers Resolution requires the president to notify Congress within 48 hours of committing armed forces to military action and forbids armed forces from remaining for more than 60 days, with a further 30-day withdrawal period, without congressional authorization for use of military force (AUMF) or a declaration of war by the United States. So it seems he's allowed to do this? It's still within 48 hours, so he has time to officially "notify" Congress, if he hasn't done so already. And since this was an aerial bombing, no armed forces remain there, so the 60-day bit is irrelevant.
- stevenwoo 1y agoHe notified the opposition leadership prior to the announcement on his social media website so he actually complied with that part.
- sssilver 1y agoMy impression was that this wasn’t how the US worked?
- PopePompus 1y agoCongress has been happily shedding its powers for decades. They don't want to be held responsible if a war turns out badly, so they haven't declared a war since 1945, I believe.
- _kst_ 1y agoThe last US declaration of war was in 1942, against Hungary, Bulgaria, and Romania (allies of Nazi Germany).
- mulmen 1y agoWWII ended in 1945. The last time the US officially declared war was June 4, 1942. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declaration_of_war_by_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declaration_of_war_by_the_Unit...
- epgui 1y agoYou’re right; it’s how the US malfunctions.
- handfuloflight 1y agoCongress does not have a spine.
- gxs 1y agoThis administration has been great at finding bugs in the code where the devs refuse to do shit That said this particular bug for starting wars without congress has been exploited for decades with no patches in site
- disqard 1y ago...and don't forget Gödel's Loophole (from Wikipedia): > Gödel's Loophole is a supposed "inner contradiction" in the Constitution of the United States which Austrian-American logician, mathematician, and analytic philosopher Kurt Gödel postulated in 1947. The loophole would permit America's republican structure to be legally turned into a dictatorship.
- readthenotes1 1y agoThat requirement has been honored rarely or skimpingly at best.
- dmschulman 1y agoname one instance where congress wasn't involved in decisions around war powers.
- ekianjo 1y agowhen were they involved in the past 30 years?
- dmschulman 1y agonot once, but twice with iraq in 1990 and 2003 (just to name one). but you still haven't fielded my question.
- readthenotes1 1y agoFor a similar situation to Trump bombing Iran and only notifying a few members of Congress: 1983 Granada 1989 Panama 2011 Libya 2012 Syria The 1990s actions in Yugoslavia were done without fall declaration of war, but Congress was more fully engaged in saying no at least. The 1991 war against Iraq was approved, in part, because the administration allowed a witness to flat out lie to Congress about the horrors of the Iraq invasion of Kuwait. The 2003 invasion of Iraq was approved, in part, because the administration lied to Congress about weapons of mass destruction. I mentioned these last two because they make a mockery of the act itself, or of the US congress, or both...
- archsurface 1y agoHe didn't. The war was already started, he lent brief assistance.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- bagels 1y agoHorrible, and illegal, but Congress has repeatedly refused to do their constitutional duty.
- cvoss 1y agoIt's, unfortunately, not illegal unless the military action continues for more than 60 days without Congressional approval. This is due to the War Powers Resolution of 1973.
- PeterHolzwarth 1y agoThese strikes are not illegal in the American body of legislation and law. We've been doing things like this for many decades.
- nicomeemes 1y ago"Accountability is the essence of democracy. If people do not know what their government is doing, they cannot be truly self-governing. The national security state assumes the government secrets are too important to be shared, that only those in the know can see classified information, that only the president has all the facts, that we must simply trust that our rulers of acting in our interest." ~ Garry Wills Never heard of Wills? Whet your appetite with his masterpiece and best work (in my humble opinion): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29435.Nixon_Agonistes https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29435.Nixon_Agonistes
- ekianjo 1y agoIt's been like that for more than 20 years.
- FuckButtons 1y agoThe strong do as they will while the weak suffer what they must. I’m glad that trump has returned us to a world where quotes from the 5th century bc seem like commentary on current affairs, since it means that all my time learning about power dynamics in political systems during antiquity is now completely relevant to dealing with current events, rather than a giant waste of time.