Reply #4: this is a disgusting attack on my opinion. You can't stop folks from disagreeing by bullying

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There is a difference between committing forces and declaring war. You know well that the War Powers Act has been disregarded since its passage. The president has clear authority to deploy troops without prior authorization due to a loophole in that act. It make no sense to pretend that he didn't.

And "ultimate responsibility" is not the same as 'authority'. It is the president's ultimate responsibility when troops are deployed. Congress can certainly declare war, but it is the president's responsibility to carry that mandate out. There will likely never be a military deployment in my lifetime which is first declared by Congress. That's my belief from years of waiting for a majority to support a tightening of the Act. The power of the president to deploy troops for a period of time before informing Congress gives him the power to initiate war, notwithstanding the Congress' power to put a halt to that deployment when they exercise their responsibility under the Constitution to weigh in.

As long as that loophole exists, presidents will likely oblige themselves of it when facing an opposing Congress. That makes THEM ultimately responsible for that deployment, not Congress.