Declaring War

I’ve been reading a lot of websites as I evaluate the various candidates for president. I’ll be issuing the Colonels Report Card on these candidates on 13 Jan–just before the Michigan Presidential Primary Election on the 15th. I’m evaluating the candidates from the perspective of their positions on matters of importance to the military/veteran community. That Report Card will be on this Blog.br /br /One of the things that seems to come up often is the how and why of our nation going to war–particularly the current war. It is clear in our constitution that only the Congress can declare war. The last time our Congress declared war was 8 Dec 1941, the day after Pearl Harbor Day. Prior to WW II our nation was protected by two very large oceans, and nothing could harm us seriously without our government having the time to consider it and act appropriately.br /br /The post WW II area has been the times of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), including, especially, nuclear weapons, and fast moving missiles that could reach our nation and do serious damage in a matter of hours. Thus, our president now has a military officer near him carrying the “football,” which contains nuclear launch codes, so that we can respond quickly. With this came the obvious need to allow the president to act quickly to preclude the need for nuclear exchange. Thus, we have the Korean War, Vietnam War, the military actions in the Carribbean and Mideast, and other actions. Though left out of the authorizing of military action, Congress retains the purse strings–thus control over all military actions–the balance of power has been maintained. Our Supreme Court has not been shy to act, and would certainly have acted should military deployments have been unconstitutional.br /br /The only down-side to the non-declaration of war by Congress is that our nation doesn’t feel like it’s at war and basically lets the military bear the entire burden. Right now our military is at war; our nation is at the mall; our government is at lunch.