Congress ceded that power in 1802 when they authorized Jefferson to engage the Barbary States with the Navy without a formal declaration of war.
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And this is where the wannabe dictator and Obama are different. Obama SOUGHT approval but Congress in their petty ass snits over all things black denied it. Trump just âdecidedâ that it would be a âgood ideaâ to have another useless strike. What do we hear from Congress? Crickets. Way to stand up for your core beliefs Cons.
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Similar thought - was recently looking at the chain of succession - because of how Trump has packed his cabinet with schmucks - you have to go many links down that chain to find somebody who might put the survival of the nation over opportunistic politics - and his nick name would be âMad Dogâ ???
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Hereâhave a magic brownie. Theyâre saving my sanity. Oh, and they help with the chemo too. 
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If I remember correctly, âMad Dogâ was a joke nickname, because Mattis was known for being terribly calm and intellectual and well-read. Like calling a huge guy Tiny.
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Dump knows that the Congressional majority will roll over and spread their cheeks for him. No problem.
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The difference I think is that the âterroristsâ theyâre trying to get are non-state actors, unlike Syria, which is a sovereign nation, hence needing a declaration of war to fight.
@christianhankel IIRC, the Barbary States were provinces of the Ottoman Empire acting on their own. In todayâs terms, they might also have been called non-state actors, even though the justification then was free passage in international waters.
Mattis is also operating off of the '02 AUMF and that Syrian chemical attack would be considered a terror attack.
I get that. However, by ceding the power to declare war to the Executive by âauthorizingâ the use of force in this case, Congress let the genie out of the bottle. From that point on* in almost every case, the Executive has tried to end-run Congress on all acts of aggression/defense by claiming the action didnât meet the official definition of âwar.â And given that most actions are now against non-state actors, this move from over 200 years ago has basically unchained the President to do whatever the eff s/he wants.
*There may have been earlier moves by Congress to cede this authority, but I think the Barbary States became the sited precedent. Please correct me if Iâm wrong.
attempted to get approval from Congress for the Friday strike on Syria
Silly kid, donât you know Trump had already been on the phone with Putin and received the only permission he needed.
Trump wanted to take swift action to back up his tweets earlier in the week,
Thank god we have our national priorities straight. Now, if Trump would just Tweet out weâre going to Mars.
Very soon âMad Dogâ is going to start drinking Mad Dog. (MD 20 20)
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You know, I âtotallyâ forgot about that. Congress, âalwaysâ ready to step up to the plate. 1802. They were lacking intestinal fortitude in 1802.
Itâs a funny juxtaposition. I think Comey did much of what HE did to protect the FBI (and his own view of himself, it is clear to âmeâ anyway that Comey viewed the FBI as an extension of himself) and Mattis does what he does (just staying there, CRIPES, who would DJT put in if Mattis was not there?) to protect the military. The reputation of our entire military establishment âholdsâ because of him.
Reading about General Flynn and how he betrayed this country (texting about nuclear plant deals from the Inaugural Podium!) because he thought OBAMA was a âbad dudeââŚwell I really donât know his reasons, except I think he went crazy after he was fired for just being a bad administrator. I mean, you can be a good person and be a garbage administrator and that was what Flynn was.
I donât get ONE thing about this. It seems âallâ the people in DJTâs inner campaign and administrative circles are just the scum of the earth. I get what Comey said, they were investigating the CAMPAIGN not DJT but it was DJT who hired all these profiteering quislings, wasnât it?
Hugs!!!
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