How does us declare war

Lawrence, Kan. Congressional Abdication on War and Spending. College Station, Tex. Thurber, pages — Lanham, Md. Fowler, Linda L. Lee, pages — Oxford University Press, Howell, William G.

Princeton: Princeton University Press, Katzmann, Robert A. Kriner, Douglas L. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, Torreon, Barbara Salazar. Weed, Matthew C. Zeisberg, Mariah. Herndon, 15 Feb. Knopf, : Kurland and Ralph Lerner, eds. Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, Inc. See also, Fisher, Presidential War Power : 6. In general, most scholars and commentators accept that presidential uses of force comport with the Declare War Clause if they come within one of three or possibly four categories, though the scope of these categories remains contested.

First, Presidents may use military force if specifically authorized by Congress. Authorization may come from a formal declaration of war, but it can also come from a more informal statutory authorization. For example, after the September 11, attacks, Congress authorized the President to use force against those who launched the attacks and those who supported or assisted them. Sometimes, authorizations are fairly specific as when Congress authorized President George W.

Bush to use force against Iraq ; sometimes they are more open-ended, as when Congress authorized the use of force to protect U. Most people agree that presidential actions pursuant to such authorizations are constitutional, although there may be debate about how broadly to read any particular authorization.

Second, Presidents are thought to have independent authority to use military force in response to attacks on the United States. At the Philadelphia convention, Madison described the Declare War Clause as leaving the President with authority to repel sudden attacks. The scope of this power is sharply contested, however. Some commentators think it includes defense against attacks on U.

Some commentators think it includes defense against threats as well as actual attacks. Some think it allows the President not only to take defensive measures but also to use offensive force against attackers.

Third, Presidents may use other constitutional powers — principally the commander-in-chief power — to deploy U. Similarly, deployment of U. More controversially, it is claimed that involvement in low-level hostilities may not rise to the level of war in the constitutional sense. President Obama argued on this ground that U.

However, this position is strongly disputed by other commentators. A related argument, also controversial, is that using force against non-state actors such as terrorist organizations does not amount to war, and thus does not implicate the Declare War Clause. The United States military involvement in Korea came as part of a United Nations effort, while the escalation of the Vietnam War followed a joint resolution passed by Congress as requested by President Lyndon B.

Johnson in For example, when President Obama approved the use of military force in Libya in , it was the nd time that a President acted under the conditions of the War Powers Resolution since While Congress was in recess in , Lincoln issued proclamations to assemble Northern state militias and initiate a blockade of the South. With public sentiment against the War in Vietnam, Congress passed the War Powers Resolution of to rein in presidential misuses of military power.

President Ronald Reagan invaded Grenada. President George H. Bush invaded Panama and Somalia.