Our military at war

On 21 Aug 1965, during the Vietnam War, it is revealed by our military headquarters in Saigon that US pilots now have received approval to destroy any Soviet-made missiles they see while raiding North Vietnam. This was a major change from previous orders that restricted them to bombing only previously approved targets. President Johnson sometimes personally selected targets for our Air Force—and always personally approved them. Thus, they weren’t able to attack the missile launchers that were shooting at them—something any tactical commander would have permitted. This is a perfect example of political leaders preventing our military from doing its job. Leaders should give our military a mission and needed resources and then stay out of the way—unless they want to change the mission. Maybe it’s time to go back to the pre-WWII (and Constitutional) model of Congress declares war—or no long term fighting.