According to the War Powers Act of 1973,
TITLE 50 >
CHAPTER 33 > § 1541
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§ 1541. Purpose and policy
http://assembler.law.cornell.edu/usc...1----000-.html
It must be a "National Emergency."
(c)
Presidential executive power as Commander-in-Chief; limitation The constitutional powers of the President as Commander-in-Chief to introduce United States Armed Forces into hostilities, or into situations where imminent involvement in hostilities is clearly indicated by the circumstances, are exercised only pursuant to
(1) a declaration of war,
(2) specific statutory authorization, or
(3) a national emergency created by attack upon the United States, its territories or possessions, or its armed forces.
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See also the full text of the War Powers Act
http://assembler.law.cornell.edu/usc..._50_10_33.html
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Only the Congress has the power to declare war.
Article 1 section 8 of the US Constitution says,
Section 8.
The Congress shall have Power To
lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;
To borrow Money on the credit of the United States;
To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;
To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;
To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;
To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;
To establish Post Offices and post Roads;
To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;
To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;
To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations;
To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;
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Here's an interesting article on the topic:
http://slate.msn.com/id/1008290
What War Powers Does the President Have?
Dahlia Lithwick
Posted Thursday, Sept. 13, 2001, at 6:37 PM ET
President George W. Bush characterizes the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon as "acts of war." What legal and constitutional powers does the president have to declare war or to launch a military action against the terrorists?
Declaring War
The United States has not formally declared war since World War II. Under
Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution, Congress has sole power "to declare war [and] grant letters of marque and reprisal." But
Article II, Section 2 provides that "The president shall be Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States." While it's clear that the Framers intended for Congress alone to declare war, presidents don't always check with Congress before acting. After President Harry Truman bypassed Congress to go to war in Korea, presidents have paid almost no attention to the constitutional requirements.
Declaring Less Than War
In 1973, an irate Congress passed the
War Powers Act in response to President Lyndon Johnson and President Richard Nixon's prosecution of the war in Vietnam without a congressional declaration. Under the War Powers Act, the president has 90 days after introducing troops into hostilities to obtain congressional approval of that action. It looks good on paper, but presidents have generally ignored the War Powers Act, citing Article II, Section 2 as their authority to send soldiers into combat.
Today, Congress met to discuss legislation to authorize the use of force under the War Powers Act. While lawmakers are still working out the language, the proposed measure will be a modified use-of-force resolution, modeled on the resolution used in 1991 to authorize action by President George Bush against Iraq prior to the Gulf War. That resolution authorized the president to "use armed forces pursuant to the UN Security Council's resolutions passed in response to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait." The resolution (HR-77) went out of its way not to be a declaration of war. In fact, other than saying this constitutes authorization under the War Powers Act, it never used the word war at all. It did cite a U.N. resolution seeking to "restore international peace and security in that area," so it was only a declaration of war if you can assume that the opposite of peace is sort of war.
Shoot To Kill?
Executive Order 12,333 prohibits assassination. This does not have the force of law but is merely a presidential pronouncement that can be repealed, modified, or suspended at any time by the president himself. As of last night, Congress was openly discussing ending the moratorium on assassinations.
International Law
The U.N. charter was ratified by the Senate, and as such the president is bound by its terms. Nevertheless, the attacks on New York and Virginia are clearly war crimes under the U.N. definition. Moreover,
Article 51 of the U.N. charter provides for the "inherent right ... of self-defense if an armed attack occurs." NATO also took steps toward approving military action yesterday, by invoking
Article 5 of the NATO charter, authorizing the use of force if it's determined that this was attack from abroad against the United States.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Tock
You're just spreading another Urban Legend, mon petite. 
do u call it?
