*Congress of War

Congress of War

by Matthew Hoh | huffingtonpost.com | Posted: 04/07/2015 11:13 am EDT
Excerpts:

"It is very bewildering, albeit horrifyingly fascinating, to watch American politicians jockey and posture for war with Iran. With the announcement last week that years of negotiations have yielded a framework agreement that will arrest any Iranian nuclear weapons program, not that one actually exists, while starting the much needed process of bringing Iran back into the world community, many members of Congress seem not just reluctant, but hostile, to the prospects of averting a war with Iran."

read more:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/matthe...b_7008294.html
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IMO: In a world gone mad with the business of war, American citizens are eager for a decade of peace while we recuperate from the two Bush Wars, and try to explain to our young men and women in the service just why we are still in Iraq, Afghanistan, and now roaming around looking for another war to send our cherished young men and women to is a sign of insanity, not patriotic fervor.

When did we become a warring nation instead of a much admired young nation interested in science, entrepreneurship, medical miracles, educational facilities to produce our future technology and a huge interest in the quality of life of each citizen?

I cannot believe that young couples are having children that will grow up to become soldiers in wars declared by a Congress that would never think of sending their own sons and daughters off to a war to get killed, or maimed, or coming home to commit suicide. That would never do for Congresses' kids, so the young recruit will be poor, jobless, and will become a soldier because there are no other jobs for him.

You can forget about patriotic fervor, we have seen enough of war, know first hand what it does to our brothers, sisters, neighbors, and the fact that it is easily becoming a modern day phenomenon of a nation undergoing a never-ending war. It isn't as if we have enough problems right here in America, with racial hatred, police brutality, the economy, and the quality of life for the rich keeps going up while the rest of us are lucky to get home alive from work at night without being a victim of a drive-by shooting.

 

Typical huff and puff lie for effect and mistate whats actually going on as though there is no halfway point between yielding to Iran's nuclear ambitions as this agreement to have and agreement does, and war.

 

One thing, this country and congress has not declared war on anyone or nation since WWII. Every war fought since then has been on a resolution of congress, the same thing as an opinion of congress or with no resolution at all. Korea and Libya comes to mind on the latter

Congress is nothing more than a lot of hot air. If they did their job as per the Constitution, they would make sure they either declared war or defunded war and brought the president to task for over stepping his authority.

Congress has that power, but they will never use it.

 

Here's a list of all the wars the United States has fought.

American Revolutionary War
Chickamagua War
Northwest Indian War
Whiskey Rebellion
Quasi-War
First Barbary War
Tecumseh's War
War of 1812
Creek War
Second Barbary War
First Seminole War
Texas-Indian Wars
Arikara War
Aegean Sea anti-Piracy Operations
Winnebago War
First Sumatran expedition
Black Hawk War
Second Seminole War
Patriot War
United States Exploration Expedition
Second Sumatran War
Mexican-American War
Cayuse War
Apache Wars
Puget Sound War
Rouge River Wars
Third Seminole War
Yakima War
Filibuster War
Watermelon War
Utah War
Navajo Wars
Cochinchina Campaign
Cortina Troubles
Paiute War
Reform War
American Civil War
Yavapai Wars
Dakota War of 1862
Colorado War
Shimonoseki War
Snake War
Powder River War
Red Cloud's War
Comanche Campaign
United States expedition to Korea
Modoc War
Red River War
Las Cuevas War
Great Sioux War of 1876
Nez Perce War
Bannock War
Cheyenne War
Sheepeater War
White River War
Pine Ridge Campaign
Garza Revolution
Overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii
Yaqui Wars
Second Samoan War
Spanish-American War
Philippine-American War
Moro Rebellion
Boxer Rebellion
Border War
Occupation of Nicaragua
Occupation of Hawaii
Occupation of the Dominican Republic
World War I
Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War
World War II
Korean War
Intervention in Lebanon
Bay of Pigs Invasion
Dominican Civil War
Vietnam War
Multinational Force in Lebanon
Invasion of Grenada
Invasion of Panama
Gulf War
Somali Civil War
Intervention in Haiti
Bosnian War
Kosovo War
War in Afghanistan
Iraq War
War in Northwest Pakistan
Military intervention in Libya
Multinational intervention against ISIS

 

You left out over another hundred wars or where the military was uses against a sovereign nation.

Before the War Powers Act, POTUS needed Congress permission to send the U.S. Army into combat. It's in the Constitution. But POTUS didn't need Congress permission to use the Navy and the Marine Corps was part of the Navy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_United_States_military_operations
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wars_involving_the_United_States

 

Covert operations are not wars.

 

Decade of peace? Lol with Obama starting a new cold war with Russia...you can forget that. How's that "arming the moderate Syrian rebels" thing going?

 

Did I say they were ?

But what about Laos ? The CIA's Secret War in Laos. Most of the world were unaware of that war until it was revealed in or around 1972. Most who were "in-country" in the RVN (65-73) were unaware of that war but they knew something was happening in Laos, especially up in I Corps.

Most people know about the Korean War 1950-1953 but are unaware of the first Korean War during 1872 or the war against Polynesian natives in 1813. There's one where a movie could be. If was the first time a Marine officer commanded a ship. I believe there's only been one book published that mentions that little war.

 

What is the practical, functional difference between a Declaration of War and an Authorization of Military Force?

 

How exactly did Obama "start a new Cold War with Russia"?

 

Today, probably very little.

It use to be a declaration of war was just that. Our nation was at war with whatever country we declared war on.

An authorization of military force can be done without declaring war or actually going to war. This nation is using military force via the authorization, yet is so doing without declaring war or getting involved in a constitutional war via a declaration.

A declaration leaves no doubt, an authorization of military force does leave doubt and give those who authorized it wiggle room to say the nation is not at war.

Semantics, probably so. But I think they are important semantics. Others may not. This brings up resolutions authorizing war. What exactly is a resolution besides an opinion? Conscious maybe.

 

Gee, do you mean I was involved in a war between 1969-71 while I was with Project 404 in Laos. Dang, if I don't learn something everyday.

Yeah, Laos was a very hot war for those involved. It was a lot more than just a cover operation. The miracle is how our involvement was kept hidden for so long. But keeping Laos off the front pages suited all sides. So the Laotians, Thais, Russians, East Germans, Chezks, North Vietnamese, Red Chinese, and a few others to include both the Royal government of Laos and the Pathet Lao, none wanted to bring it to the attention of the world.

 

Obama appeased Putin back in 2009, gave Putin everything he wanted with nothing in exchange. From that day on Putin lost all respect for Obama as a leader and said this Obama guy is a pantywaist another Neville Chamberlain and I'm going to take advantage of that if he doesn't understand geopolitics.

 

And of course we should ignore Putin claiming the Arctic, resuming Bomber flights and long range naval patrols, and attacking a US ally with no US response under Bush's tenure...

 

The two sides in our country start with the assertions that Iran either IS or IS NOT trying to build a bomb. Show me some frigging proof one way or the other. I don't want to hear that proof from either Netanyahu or the Ayatollah.

And, oh, don't send Colin Powell either.

 

War, it's always war.

War, war what is it good for?

Well, changing the political landscape and the geography.

 

Like I mentioned before on this forum or another forum probably the later, in late 69 I was up in N/W I Corps near the DMZ and pretty close to the Laotion border, you would hear the B-52 bombing strikes in Laos and you just figured they were bombing the Ho Chi Minh Trail. You would see four or six plane formations of Air Force A-1 Sky Raiders flying into Laos and you just figured they were on a combat air rescue mission. But when you see Army CH-47 Chinooks flying into Laos and one day I see two Marine CH-53's each with a 105 MM howitzers hanging underneath flying into Laos you come to the conclusion there's more going on in Laos than just Army Special Forces counter insurgency operations.

- - - Updated - - -

Obama seems to be doing that.

Obama is clueless how the geopolitical game is played. While Putin and the rest of the world leaders play chess, Obama continues to play checkers.

 

So you admit that this new "Cold War" was started under Bush?

 

No I don't, it happened on Obama's watch.

But you can go back to the Clinton administration, it was Secretary of State Madeleine Albright who wanted to keep the pressure on the new Russian Federation, she has a chip on her shoulder when it comes to Russians.

Why do progressive promote moving forward while always trying to move the clock back with revisionism ?

 

So what exactly would you call the resumption of Russian aggression to include attacks on US allies on Bush's watch to which he did nothing?

 

I have no idea what you are talking about.

If you are referring to Georgia, Georgia was not an ally but a former state of the Soviet Union.

When Russia saw that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been politicized in America and G.W. Bush was a lame duck President, you (Russia) make a classic chess move on the geopolitical chess game. Busah actually counter that move.

I could never figure out why G.W, Bush didn't bring Russia (Putin) on board on the war against Radical Islam. Both America and Russia have a common enemy, Islam. At first it didn't make sense since Condoleezza Rice was part of the Bush administration, probably one of the most respected and best experts on the Soviet Union/Russia. Eventually after Bush was out of the White House I learned it was Dick Cheney's doing. Cheney doesn't like Putin, he looks at Putin as KGB, which he was during the Cold War

It was the Clinton administration and Albright and the next administration with Cheney who were still stuck in the Cold War mentality and were to slow to move on.

Russia would love to be a superpower again but are willing to except being a regional super power which they already are. But Russia wants to be recognized as a regional power and even more, Russia wants respect.

Are you street wise Mr. Questerr ? Do you understand what showing respect is ?

The Soviet Union didn't like President Esienhower in fact they blamed Esienhower for starting the Cold War. But the Soviet Union respected Esienhower, they were in awe with Esienhower, they feared him but highly respected him as a military general.
But I digress, before 2000 the U.S, Navy blue jackets and Marines have gone into armed conflict over 140 times without the approval of Congress.

In the early 1970's the Democrats have ended the draft, created an all volunteer military being warned it would be extremely expensive. Ending a 200 year tradition of the citizen soldier. Even forced a "total force" policy on the military where that the Army couldn't even deploy one division into combat without calling up the Guard and reserves, the liberals thinking this would prevent the United States ever sending American troops into harms way. How has that worked out since 1975 ?

 

Most of the stuff over the trail was directed out of Savannakhet Laos or MRIII. Where I was at our main concern was MRII and the PDJ, Plain of Jars. All that bombing you heard just slowed down the flow of men and supplies from the north.

 

@Agent,

You can forget about a "Congress of War," all you have to do is elect Hillary Clinton - and you'll get your wish of a war with Iran.

At least - she's threatened as much:

~ Hillary Rodham Clinton 2008

 

with a war in Iran the US is just continuing what they are doing since 9/11. too many people have died in Afghanistan and Iraq in the war against terrorism and nobody involved has profited from it.
MOD EDIT>>>RULE 15<<<

 

Not any more. Congressional war declaring authority is only on paper now. If it ever came down to a direct court challenge between Congress and the president over war making authority the president would win hands down.

At least that is the opinion of Constitutional scholar and lawyer Lawrence Tribe (one of the five most well regarded constitutional authorities in the United States).