Wednesday, March 02, 2011

StratFor on Declaration of War

As usual, a stellar piece by George Friedman of StratFor.
"World War II was the last war the United States fought with a formal declaration of war. The wars fought since have had congressional approval, both in the sense that resolutions were passed and that Congress appropriated funds, but the Constitution is explicit in requiring a formal declaration. It does so for two reasons, I think. The first is to prevent the president from taking the country to war without the consent of the governed, as represented by Congress. Second, by providing for a specific path to war, it provides the president power and legitimacy he would not have without that declaration; it both restrains the president and empowers him. Not only does it make his position as commander in chief unassailable by authorizing military action, it creates shared responsibility for war. A declaration of war informs the public of the burdens they will have to bear by leaving no doubt that Congress has decided on a new order — war — with how each member of Congress voted made known to the public."

Read the article, you will not regret it.
(I should have known this was a good read when both FACIA and Joel brought it to my attention within 2 hours of each other, only for it to appear soon after on ZeroHedge)

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