The War Power
The thing about abuse is you get used to it. Eventually, it becomes normal – having been normalized. For instance, this business of the president starting wars. Just deciding it’s time to lob bombs on other countries.
This is not the president’s constitutional prerogative, which is the relevant point. Not whether the country on the receiving end of the bombs – and sometimes, troops – perhaps deserves to have bombs lobbed on it or American troops sent to it. Those are considerations used to manipulate public support, especially when it is lacking in Congress – which is supposed to have the power to declare war.
Well, the work-around – used by American presidents since at least the time of FDR – is to just wage it without actually declaring it.
FDR waged war against both Germany and Japan years before the war (the second one) was declared. German ships – including the battleship Bismarck, for those interested in an interesting bit of history – were shadowed by American ships and their location transmitted to the British, who were
Article from LewRockwell
LewRockwell.com is a libertarian website that publishes articles, essays, and blog posts advocating for minimal government, free markets, and individual liberty. The site was founded by Lew Rockwell, an American libertarian political commentator, activist, and former congressional staffer. The website often features content that is critical of mainstream politics, state intervention, and foreign policy, among other topics. It is a platform frequently used to disseminate Austrian economics, a school of economic thought that is popular among some libertarians.
