[dj_gitmo]

It’s horrible that the president can start a war without even asking congress.

[nicomeemes]

"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

[bagels]

Horrible, and illegal, but Congress has repeatedly refused to do their constitutional duty.

[cvoss]

It'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]

These strikes are not illegal in the American body of legislation and law. We've been doing things like this for many decades.

[sssilver]

My impression was that this wasn’t how the US worked?

[sjsdaiuasgdia]

The last formal declaration of war by the US was during World War 2.

We got very good at gray area nonsense. The Korean War is not a war, it's a conflict. The Vietnam War is not a war, it's an engagement. We have police actions, "peacekeeping" operations, and a hundred other things...but not "wars".

We have the "global war on terror" and the accompanying Authorization for the Use of Military Force, created in the wake of 9/11 and still in effect today.

Congressional approval of military action is fundamentally dead.

[PopePompus]

Congress 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.

[colechristensen]

It wasn't supposed to be how it worked but our legislature is basically dysfunctional and either vaguely gave away or just won't protect its own power.

[epgui]

You’re right; it’s how the US malfunctions.

[gxs]

This 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

[handfuloflight]

Congress does not have a spine.

[Freedom2]

Generally no, but if you gaslight yourself into thinking you're the greatest democracy in the world with no equal and you need no patches or bugfixes, you can achieve a lot without any real checks or balances.

[FuckButtons]

The 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.

[ekianjo]

It's been like that for more than 20 years.

[readthenotes1]

That requirement has been honored rarely or skimpingly at best.

[dmschulman]

name one instance where congress wasn't involved in decisions around war powers.

[awongh]

This hasn't been a rule since WWII?

[sealeck]

I'm not even American and I know that this act was passed after the Vietnam War: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Powers_Resolution

[archsurface]

He didn't. The war was already started, he lent brief assistance.