Back in 1963, Hans Morgenthau was quite vocal in his opposition to the Vietnam War has this to say about the Government's push to become engaged. It holds to the current situation. Bold Text is my doing.
The Constitution assigns to Congress the right to declare war. How can Congress discharge this function if its members and the citizens who have elected them are precluded from discussing the merits of the issues that might lead to war? The Constitution implies that Congress has a choice in the matter of war. How can it make that choice if neither it nor the people it represents have the right to debate the issues? To say that the most momentous issues a nation must face cannot be openly and critically discussed is really tantamount to saying that democratic debate and decision do not apply to the questions of life and death and that, as far as they are concerned, the people have given carte blanche to one man. Not only is this position at odds with the principles of democracy, but it also removes a very important corrective for governmental misjudgment. –HANS MORGENTHAU, APRIL 3, 1965
General H. R. McMaster, in his book "Dereliction of Duty" ends his account by saying the following:
The War in Vietnam was not lost in the field, nor was it lost on the front pages of the "New York Times" or on the College Campuses. It was lost in Washington, D.C., even before Americans assumed sole responsibility for the fighting in 1965 and before they realized the Country was at War;indeed, even before the first American Units were deployed. The disaster in Vietnam was not the result of impersonal forces but a uniquely human failure, the responsibility for which was shared by President Johnson and his principle military and civilian advisers. The failings were many and reinforcing: arrogance, weakness, lying in the pursuit of self-interest, and above all, the abdication of responsibility to the American People.
I maintain we are seeing exactly the same thing happen right here before our eyes. Obama and his military and civilian advisers are repeating those same mistakes in order to support a failed Presidency all the while ignoring the Will of the People.