Decades of Presidents Ignoring the War Powers Act Led Us Here
War by any other name is still war.
Photographer: Mahsa/AFP via Getty Images
When you bomb a country and take out its leader, that’s an act of war.
Under the Constitution, Congress must declare war or otherwise authorize the use of force before the president may take such action. It doesn’t matter whether it’s Iran, where the joint US-Israeli attacks that killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei have already led to retaliation; Venezuela, where the Trump administration grabbed President Nicolás Maduro in January; or Libya, where the Obama administration participated in the 2011 bombing campaign that led to the removal of Muammar Qaddafi. And it doesn’t matter whether the ruler is morally repugnant or a confirmed lifelong enemy of the US. It’s still a war for purposes of the Constitution, not to mention international law.