Nice easy general layman definition of Declaration of War. But it misses the point that only a formal enactment by Congress so entitled is in fact a Declaration of War.
The most recent Congressional interpretation of their Constitutional authority, the War Powers Resolution of 1973 makes a careful distinction between a declaration of war by Congress, a Congressional resolution authorizing force or a response to an invasion of the United States or attack on its forces. Read the resolution at: http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/laws/majorlaw/warpower.htm In part, it reads: SEC 2(c): "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." Right now U.S. forces involved in the War on Terror do it based on "(2) specific statutory authorization" NOT a declaration of war. Technical? Yes. But in law, as in artillery, accuracy counts... David Bier --- In osint@yahoogroups.com, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > > _Legal Definition of 'Declaration Of War'_ > (http://www.lectlaw.com/def/d108.htm) > > DECLARATION OF WAR - An act of the national legislature, in which a state of > war is declared to exist between the United States and some other nation. > This power is vested in Congress by the Constitution, Art. I. **There is no form > or ceremony necessary, except the passage of the act.** (emphasis added) > > The public proclamation of the government of a state, by which it declares > itself to be at war with a foreign power, and which forbids all and every one > to aid or assist the common enemy. A manifesto stating the causes of the war > is usually published, but war exists as soon as the act takes effect. > > It was formerly usual to precede hostilities by a public declaration > communicated to the enemy, and to send a herald to demand satisfaction, but that is > not the practice of modern times. In some countries, e.g., England, the power > of declaring war is vested in the king, but he has no power to raise men or > money to carry it on, which renders the right almost nugatory. > > > * > * > * > Rev. Jim Sutter (a/k/a Groandalf) > > Cleveland, Ohio USA > _http://revjimsutter.blogspot.com_ (http://revjimsutter.blogspot.com/) > (frequently updated) > > Fair winds and following seas to our lost sailors and Marines. > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
