Originally Posted by
Buster Hyman
Umm...I'm not fully versed on American Politics but is there such a blurred line that the Sec Def can say "perhaps"???
Only Congress has constitutional authority to
declare war, but the President, acting as Commander-in-Chief, has an inherent power to use military force; for instance when attacked, or briefly.
In practice, this has become a way for Congress to avoid all responsibility for starting a war; they may support the President's decision to use force, or oppose him, but basically they have ceded the decision to him.