"But we're at war!"

[salinen]

The phrase used by lunatics and cowards. When are we not at war? Afghanistan and Iraq will be occupied with U.S. troops for the next 50-100 years. Besides, U.S.A. is a rogue war nation, looking for another battleground to fulfill the desires of the war profiteers.

If your business is selling killing machines, then you must also export hate, paranoia, and mistrust.

[xchrom]

1. when was there a declaration of war? nt

[valerief]

2. When does war need to be declared? It just IS, like death and taxes. nt

[Cleita]

3. You don't need a declaration to notice the reality

of war machines, uniformed combatants and dead bodies in your neighborhood.

[DCKit]

4. "Teh War on Terra" and "Teh War on Drugs"...

You only have to declare war against a country, not a concept.

That said, our presence in Afghanistan and Iraq is probably illegal. Of course we're only there because our illegally, immorally installed and highly paid puppets "invited" us.

However, both seem to be cooling to the U.S.. Guess the money spigot isn't gushing like it used to.

[salinen]

9. The template of failure

that was Russia, is being employed by the military industrial complex.

[msongs]

5. WE are not at war.Obama, congress & the welfare parasite military industrial complex is at war nt

[FiveGoodMen]

8. ...with US!

[salinen]

10. Well said

[ljm2002]

6. Has there been a time...

...in the last 50 years, when we were not engaged in a war somewhere?

I can't think of one.

I've given up on the argument that Congress never declared war. It didn't work during the Vietnam conflict and it won't work now. All those defenders of the Constitution and the "original intent" of its framers, just fall silent on this issue.

The elites like it that way. They like that we hold bake sales for our heroic warriors who come home wounded and can't afford medical care. They swoon when we collect clothing from people's doorsteps in big drives for vets and their families. It reinforces our reverence for warriors, and keeps us from questioning the basis of the wars. If you create a culture where soldiers are revered, it is easy to prevent questioning the policies, for anytime someone questions the policies you can accuse them of hating the troops and being unpatriotic.

By the same token, when it comes to all those homeless and drug-addicted vets, the population accepts that by and large it's their own fault. "Personal responsibility", dontcha know. I mean, just because you can't get the nightmares out of your head, and can't afford medical care, and were purposely misdiagnosed so that they don't have to treat you for PTSD, now that's no reason to take drugs is it? Why there are soldiers out there who lost both legs and still run marathons, so if you can't do that then you're just a good-for-nothing and probably weren't fit to serve in the first place. To the discard heap with you!

The contradictions in our society and how we interpret various things are really quite striking.

[Electric Monk]

7. WWII never technically ended. That's why they don't have to declare wars anymore.

Pretty convenient loophole, eh?

[ljm2002]

12. Do you have a citation for that?

Interesting if true, it would certainly explain a lot. But I have never heard that before.

[Electric Monk]

13. Sure

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Is_the_Iraq_War_considered_a_declared_war

WWII was the last "Declared War" the United States had.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Did_the_US_officially_declare_war_with_Iraq

WW2 was the last official declaration of war conducted by the US.

[ljm2002]

15. Thanks, but neither of those links...

...says anything about whether WWII was officially ended.

(on edit)

Okay I found a citation that does not support your claim:

---

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/When_did_World_War_2_end

President Truman officially declared an end to hostilities by Presidential Proclamation on December 31, 1946 (Proc. no. 2714, 61 Stat. 1048)

---

So it would seem that we should by all rights still have to declare wars. Sadly, those who are so adamant about defending the Constitution remain silent on this issue.

[Electric Monk]

16. It would seem that we should by all rights still have to declare wars. Yes. But we don't. QED

Something is rotten in Denmark.

[salinen]

11. Not according to John Bolton

may his tongue rot.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

14. But we're at conflict, we're at profiteering, we're at misunderstanding,

we're done supporting the freedom fighters, we're not done doing as we do and not as we say.