Ronald Reagan

[Zkribbler]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
Hell, even Vietnam wasn't approved by Congress until after it started.

We only had advisors in until Congress approved the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.

Gulf War, Kosovo, Somalia, Afghanistan... ALL done without Congress' approval. [/QUOTE]

For the Gulf War there was formal Congressional approval. (I still think it should have been a Declaration of War, but they did some Congressional resolution instead. )

I admit, I don't remember anything pre-Kosova.

In Somalia, we were just supposed to be guarding food deliveries, but caught caught up in mission creep.

After 9/11, Congress gave the President the powers to use all necessary force to track down and punish the terrorists. Thus, it was another Gulf of Tonkin-type resolutions.

But with Grenada, Congress woke up one day to find out we had invaded another country. Same with Bush the Elder & Panama.

--Not that both operations were launched with good intentions. It's just that the decision makers didn't have the Constitutional authority to order this nation to go to war with another.

[Imran Siddiqui]

For the Gulf War there was formal Congressional approval

Still wasn't started by Congress.

We only had advisors in until Congress approved the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.

We had troops in during Kennedy's time. Still not a declaration of war.

Congress gave the President the powers to use all necessary force to track down and punish the terrorists. Thus, it was another Gulf of Tonkin-type resolutions.

But not a declaration of war.

Granada really isn't rare in keeping Congress in the dark.

[Zkribbler]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
Granada really isn't rare in keeping Congress in the dark.

Well, true. They're good at doing that all by themselves.

[Shi Huangdi]

I'll agree with you that military actions should have a declaration of war attached, but unfortunately that is rarely the case.

The Kosovo war never got Congressional approval and in fact I think Congress was largely hostile to that action.

[MrFun]

I voted that Reagan was bad for America and the world.

He was your usual Republican who worshipped the upper class and kow towed to them. That's nothing new though.