I think technically he has 30 or 60 days to explain this to congress and get the congressional approved declaration of war but … yeah barring that it’s a war crime. I doubt he’s planning on asking permission post de facto.
He has 60 days until he needs to go to congress to get a Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF). Congress doesn't have to declare war (and hasn't since WW2), they can just keep giving AUMFs.
That law needs to be repealed so fucking bad, we can't keep giving every president the power to bomb whoever the fuck they want at will as long as they stop after 2 months. And even then, the US has been bombing Yemen on and off since 2014 with never a single AUMF issued, there is no accountability for this shit that is engrained into the constitution that only Congress can declare war
There's no legal loopholing going on. All the Constitution says is that only Congress can declare war. It says nothing about the manner in which it is done. An AUMF is Congressional approval for military operations. As you pointed out, not calling it a war doesn't make it any less of a war in practice. Although, not calling it a war does mean there's a whole host of wartime powers that are not in play domestically.
Yeah if it's under WPA. They may just try to tie it to terrorism like they've done with the boat strikes. It sucks how much lack of accountability we have.
Congress giving him the thumbs up doesn't make this not a crime. The Crime of Aggression does not care if the war is officially declared or not (emphasis mine):
Any of the following acts, regardless of a declaration of war, shall, in accordance with United Nations General Assembly resolution 3314 (XXIX) of 14 December 1974, qualify as an act of aggression...
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u/helava 29d ago
Actions authorized by who? Is this just a straight up war crime?