“The answer is that, to some extent, they both claim it. The Constitution, in Article I, Section 8, explicitly states that “The Congress shall have Power To…declare War.” But in Article II, Section 2, the Constitution says that “The president shall be Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States.” So while only Congress can technically declare war, the president is in charge of the military - and can decide when and where it is deployed.
Which helps explain why America hasn’t actually declared war since World War 2. President Harry Truman didn’t go to Congress for a formal declaration of war in Korea, mandating that the U.S. involvement was simply a “police action.” That example has been followed in the years since.
In 1973, in response to the Vietnam War, Congress passed the War Powers Act, which mandates that a president obtain congressional approval within 90 days of introducing troops into battle. (It also mandates that they explain the action to Congress within 48 hours.) Yet it too has largely been ignored, in part because it does not provide any recourse if a president violates it. On Monday, Kucinich said he would try to use Congress’ power of the purse to stop the U.S. intervention in Libya, saying he would introduce an amendment to defund the action…
Mr. Obama sent a letter on Monday notifying Congress he had acted in Libya, in conjunction with the War Powers Act’s 48 hours requirement.”
- Is Obama’s Libya offensive constitutional? - Political Hotsheet - CBS News
Which helps explain why America hasn’t actually declared war since World War 2. President Harry Truman didn’t go to Congress for a formal declaration of war in Korea, mandating that the U.S. involvement was simply a “police action.” That example has been followed in the years since.
In 1973, in response to the Vietnam War, Congress passed the War Powers Act, which mandates that a president obtain congressional approval within 90 days of introducing troops into battle. (It also mandates that they explain the action to Congress within 48 hours.) Yet it too has largely been ignored, in part because it does not provide any recourse if a president violates it. On Monday, Kucinich said he would try to use Congress’ power of the purse to stop the U.S. intervention in Libya, saying he would introduce an amendment to defund the action…
Mr. Obama sent a letter on Monday notifying Congress he had acted in Libya, in conjunction with the War Powers Act’s 48 hours requirement.”
- Is Obama’s Libya offensive constitutional? - Political Hotsheet - CBS News