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Why do we need an amendment to save lives, but to kill people a simple bit of legislation will do?
The most simple, clear and direct words in the United States Constitution could arguably be: “Congress declares war.”
In the year 2001, Congress wanted a war with Afghanistan, but didn’t want to declare war. They wanted to punt their responsibilities — the Constitution requires them to declare war or not, it’s legally THEIR decision — so they passed a law. The war in Afghanistan wasn’t declared by Congress. Instead, under a law called The Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF), the President decided the country would go to war.
No amendment required.
When the Constitution was written, our country was very fearful of tyranny, particularly tyranny from a single political leader who had TOO MUCH power. Someone like a king. So they limited the powers of the president and carefully placed the power to make war in the hands of the legislative branch, specifically Congress.
The AUMF violates both that principle and the words of the Constitution itself. Unfortunately, nobody was able to enforce the Constitution in this case. Even though every single member of Congress (as well as the president) takes an oath preserve and protect the Constitution. In other words, all of these government officials failed at…
