Rand Paul on ISIS response: 'This war is now illegal'

[Lief 🗽]

Well then he can feel free to impeach President Obama. Put up or shut up, Randy.

[Lief 🗽]

The War Powers Resolution is unconstitutional nonsense. Obama is right to ignore it.

If Rand Paul wants Obama to remove troops from Syria, then he is free to pass a bill through Congress cutting off funding for the troops there.

[Lief 🗽]

All this "war" and "constitutional" business and what have you is all completely besides the point. Unless we're talking about a full fledged invasion of a sovereign state, then the President gets to do whatever he wants when it comes to military operations. If the commander in chief wants to deploy a small amount of troops or planes or ships to defend American interests, he can do that, especially when we already have military forces operating in the immediate region. That's the way it's always been and that's the way it always will be.

[Lief 🗽]

I'm not saying I agree or disagree with it, but the law is what it is.

To add to what Bedstuy said on the WPR, presidents since Nixon have basically treated it as a non-binding legal formality. They'll usually make the reports to Congress as required by the law, but have never let themselves be constrained by it. I'm not sure whether or not the executives since Nixon have explicitly said that it is unconstitutional (like he did in his veto message) but they've basically treated it as such (and they are correct to, because it is unconstitutional).

[Lief 🗽]

I do not recall the amendment to the Constitution that granted the Iraqi parliament the war powers delegated to Congress.

Again, that's not what anyone said. Iraq (our ally, legally speaking) is under attack. The President has the right to use force to defend them. I'm sorry, but you just aren't going to get around this.

Can you point to a provision that says that the President can go to war unilaterally so long as Iraq is under attack? Treaties do not count, as the Constitution is theoretically the highest law of the land, and thus could only be legally superseded by an amendment process.

Obama has not "gone to war." Bombing ISIS is not a war.

[Lief 🗽]

Uh, no. Democrats here are explaining what the law is. Sorry that Rand Paul is ignorant of it.

[Lief 🗽]

He is right, every war we've been in since Vietnam is been illegal.  Only congress and declare war, and they have not done so yet.

Congress has authorized every "war" we've been in since Vietnam, so they've all been legal.