With all the conflicts we are participating in when was the last time any of it was authorized by Congress? (play Jeopardy music here)…….when was 2001 Alex.
Since then we are fighting in engagement after engagement without a vote…..under the Constitution that makes they illegal wars and are subject to international law.
So why hasn’t Congress done their duty on this issue? I mean they waste time on stupid votes and it would seem that committing American troops to a life or death situation should take priority over this Obamacare battle……but then I am an apologist so I would ask such a probing question…..
Maybe the American Conservative can help answer this question…..
This coming August, the United States will have been engaged in a war against the Islamic State for two years. Tens of thousands of U.S. airstrikes on ISIS targets will have been conducted, billions of dollars will have been spent, and several thousand advisers and special-operations forces will have been sent to Iraq and Syria to gather intelligence, train local forces, and prepare plans for the final thrust into the cities of Mosul and Raqqa.
All of this will have happened without the U.S. Congress performing its most important job under the Constitution: declaring war or passing an authorization for the use of military force. In a new lawsuit, one professor, one human rights lawyer, and a captain in the U.S. Army aim to force the issue.
Source: Why Hasn’t Congress Authorized Force Against ISIS? | The American Conservative
Read the article and then make your comment……please……
One would think such approval would be a formality, given the wide perception of ISIS as a threat to international security.
You would think and yet NOTHING! Our government at work….
Reblogged this on A Green Road Daily News.
It’s simple really — Attacking ISIS militarily is good for business. There are dollars to be made. Besides which there is no such thing as “ISIS”. It is “ISIL” which is the way the President likes to rfefer to “The Levant.” That kind of justified — in some strange way unknown to me — the actions of both sides and gives the whole mess a historical context that people are supposed to be dumb enough to swallow.
Exactly….whatever happened to the Constitution? As usual it is only a good thing when someone is trying to make a point….after that nothing
Doesn’t the Constitution talk about the pursuit of happiness? Aren’t there a lot of people who are happy with their wartime profiteering?
HA…it also says the war must be authorized….not so these days….we just by-pass the parts we don’t like…
Just like some Christians do with The Bible … LOL … but remember .. The President has extensive war powers that Congress granted him in addition to the ones he took via presidential prerogratives and executive edits.
I do not believe that war falls under the EO program….
While the guy is 100% right and should win his case, there’s a 0% chance he will. (And any justice siding with him will get a reservation for Scalia’s room at that bizarro hunting ranch.
But to answer the “Why won’t Congress authorize?” question…
1) Because Congress barely has one testicle between BOTH houses. None one of them want to stand up and say “More war please” if they don’t have to. Not even the hawks. Right now, they have “plausible deniability”.
2) It might give the impression that MISC Industries is somehow under the control of the elected representatives of The People. (HAHAHAHAHAHA!)
NO one in Congress wants to have to vote on this issue…it might hurt them in the polls no matter which way they vote.
Like I’ve said before…with many others…these wars are illegal wars. Not that I would support them if they were voted legal but still. I’m getting FLAK from a Government Agency, the IRS because I haven’t filed my tax returns in years…even though I didn’t owe income tax only self-employment tax, and very little by most terms. I have also taken my Social Security early based on the amounts I paid in when I was an employee and when I used to make a modest amount in self-employment income. Believe me the last few years of my self-employment were well below modest but I still did owe some tax.
So why can’t I as an individual decide to be illegal, while Congress continues to do so regarding wars. Sure each individual elected official could be hurt in the polls or even the campaigns but I was hurt by choosing to not pay into the system because my return is less and any financial aid I might qualify for is not available because I can’t prove income? ~~dru~~
dru, your story sounds like so many others I have heard…..retirement pay sucks!
Soooo True and I wouldn’t even be “retired”, I’d still be working part-time for one or two clients if my eyes hadn’t gotten so bad. So here I sit playing on the computer but to be honest it is far more fun than an honest day’s (or in my case 1/2 day’s) work…..giggle!
~~dru~~
so true…..chuq
They, Congress, don’t bother with such silly requirements any more, simply because it’s clear not enough people really care enough to make an issue of it. There are so many issues for people to deal with, which come at them so fast and consistently, it overwhelms most people’s ability to perform the basic functions of maintaining their lives; they don’t feel they can keep up with that, so, why bother with more complex issues? As long as they don’t personally have to make too many sacrifices, they’ll ignore as much as they can. Denial is a huge part of why it is so easy to fool the public, because to think beyond the basics is too much effort for most….
So, why should Congress bother? Nobody does anything, anyway….
gigoid, the dubious