Declaration of war by the United States
{{short description|Aspect of U.S. law, government, and military}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2011}}{{Use American English|date = November 2019}}
{{External links|date=February 2025}}
File:Franklin Roosevelt signing declaration of war against Japan.jpg Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the declaration of war against Japan on December 8, 1941]]
A declaration of war is a formal declaration issued by a national government indicating that a state of war exists between that nation and another. A document by the Federation of American Scientists gives an extensive listing and summary of statutes which are automatically engaged upon the United States declaring war.{{sfn|Elsea|Weed|2014}}
For the United States, Article One, Section Eight of the Constitution says "Congress shall have power to ... declare War." However, that passage provides no specific format for what form legislation must have in order to be considered a "declaration of war" nor does the Constitution itself use this term. In the courts, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, in Doe v. Bush, said: "[T]he text of the October Resolution itself spells out justifications for a war and frames itself as an 'authorization' of such a war."{{cite web |title=DOE II III IV v. BUSH, 03-1266, (March 13, 2003) |url=https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-1st-circuit/1171416.html |work=FindLaw |access-date=20 June 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029215248/https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-1st-circuit/1171416.html |archive-date=October 29, 2020}} in effect saying an authorization suffices for declaration and what some may view as a formal congressional "Declaration of War" was not required by the Constitution.
The last time the United States formally declared war, using specific terminology, on any nation was in 1942, when war was declared against Axis-aligned Hungary, Bulgaria, and Romania, because President Franklin Roosevelt thought it was improper to engage in hostilities against a country without a formal declaration of war. Since then, every American president has used military force without a declaration of war.{{cite web|url=https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/declarations-of-war.htm|publisher=United States Senate|title=About Declarations of War by Congress|accessdate=19 October 2022}}
This article will use the term "formal declaration of war" to mean congressional legislation that uses the phrase "declaration of war" in the title. Elsewhere, this article will use the terms "authorized by Congress," "funded by Congress" or "undeclared war" to describe other such conflicts.
History
The United States has formally declared war against foreign nations in five separate wars, each upon prior request by the president of the United States. Four of those five declarations came after hostilities had begun.{{cite book|last=Henderson|first=Phillip G. |title=The presidency then and now|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zscghb2szdAC|year=2000|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-0-8476-9739-7|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Zscghb2szdAC&pg=PA51 51]}} James Madison reported that in the Federal Convention of 1787, the phrase "make war" was changed to "declare war" in order to leave to the executive the power to repel sudden attacks but not to commence war without the explicit approval of Congress.[https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/debates_817.asp The Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787 reported by James Madison : August 17],The Avalon Project, [http://www.law.yale.edu Yale Law School], retrieved Feb 13, 2008 Debate continues as to the legal extent of the president's authority in this regard.
Public opposition to American involvement in foreign wars, particularly during the 1930s, was expressed as support for a Constitutional Amendment that would require a national referendum on a declaration of war.{{Cite web|url=https://catalog.archives.gov/id/24200391|title=Petition for a Constitutional Amendment to Hold National Referendums on Declarations of War from Danville, Ohio|date=1938|publisher=The National Archives of the United States|access-date=July 29, 2016}} Several constitutional amendments, such as the Ludlow Amendment, have been proposed that would require a national referendum on a declaration of war.
After Congress repealed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in January 1971 and President Richard Nixon continued to wage war in Vietnam, Congress passed the War Powers Resolution ({{USPL|93|148}}) over the veto of Nixon in an attempt to rein in some of the president's claimed powers. The War Powers Resolution proscribes the only power of the president to wage war which is recognized by Congress.{{cite news|last1=Shindler|first1=Michael|title=War Powers: Return to Congress|url=https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2018/03/01/war_powers_return_them_to_congress_113136.html|access-date=2 March 2018|agency=RealClear Media Group|publisher=RealClearDefense|date=1 March 2018}}
Declarations of War
The United States has formally declared war in five separate conflicts, issuing declarations against ten different foreign nations. The only country to have been the subject of multiple U.S. war declarations is Germany, which the United States formally declared war against twice, once in World War I and again in World War II. A case could also be made for Hungary, as it was a successor state to Austria-Hungary, against which the U.S. declared war in World War I.
= Formal Declarations of War =
Under the United States Constitution, Congress holds the sole authority to issue formal war declarations. Since the nation's founding, Congress has exercised this power on a limited number of occasions.
The first formal declaration occurred on June 18, 1812, when the United States declared war against the United Kingdom, citing British impressment of American sailors and violations of U.S. neutrality during the Napoleonic Wars. This conflict, known as the War of 1812, concluded with the Treaty of Ghent in 1814.{{cite web|title=U.S. Senate: Declaration of War with Great Britain, 1812|url=https://www.senate.gov/about/images/documents/war-of-1812-senate-amendments.htm#:~:text=On%20June%2017,%201812,%20the,into%20law%20the%20following%20day.|access-date=2022-07-24|website=www.senate.gov}}
On May 13, 1846, Congress declared war on Mexico at the request of President James K. Polk, following territorial disputes and military clashes in Texas. The Mexican-American War resulted in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848), which expanded U.S. territory to include present-day California, Arizona, and other southwestern states.{{cite web|title=Mexican-American War {{!}} Significance, Battles, Results, Timeline, & Facts|url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Mexican-American-War|access-date=2022-07-24|website=www.britannica.com}}
The Spanish-American War marked another instance of a formal declaration of war. The conflict was precipitated by the sinking of the USS Maine in Havana Harbor and growing tensions over Spanish colonial rule in Cuba. The war ended later that year with the Treaty of Paris (1898), which granted the United States control over former Spanish territories, including Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines.{{Cite book|last1=Elsea|first1=Jennifer|url=https://www.everycrsreport.com/files/20140418_RL31133_620df7f4957a04974d9ac52d855950d397907710.html|title=Declarations of War and Authorizations for the Use of Military Force: Historical Background and Legal Implications|last2=Weed|first2=Matthew C.|date=18 April 2014|publisher=Congressional Research Service|edition=7|location=Washington D.C.|pages=2|language=en|oclc=1097433856}}
During World War I, the United States declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917, citing unrestricted submarine warfare and the Zimmermann Telegram, in which Germany attempted to persuade Mexico to join the war against the United States. Later that year, on December 7, 1917, Congress also declared war on Austria-Hungary, a German ally. The conflict formally ended for the United States with the signing of separate peace treaties with Germany, Austria, and Hungary in 1921.{{cite web|url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL31133.pdf|author=United States Congress|work=Government of the United States of America|title=Declarations of War and Authorizations for the Use of Military Force: Historical Background and Legal Implications|date=May 13, 1846|access-date=August 10, 2006}}
World War II saw the most formal war declarations by the United States. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Congress declared war on Japan the next day, with near-unanimous approval. In response, Nazi Germany and Italy, led by Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, declared war on the United States on December 11, prompting reciprocal declarations by Congress against both nations. In 1942, the United States further declared war on Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania, all Axis-aligned nations.{{Harvp|Elsea|Weed|2014|p=2-3}} The war concluded in 1945 with the unconditional surrender of Germany and Japan, followed by formal peace treaties in the years after.{{cite web|title=On This Day – 11 December 1941: Germany and Italy Declare War on US|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/december/11/newsid_3532000/3532401.stm|access-date=2022-07-24|website=BBC News|date=December 11, 1941 }}
Each of these declarations was issued through a Congressional resolution, signed into law by the president, signifying the commencement of hostilities under the authority of the U.S. government. Since World War II, the United States has engaged in numerous military conflicts, but none have been accompanied by a formal declaration of war. Instead, Congress has authorized the use of military force through resolutions, such as those in Korea, Vietnam, and the War on Terror, including conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.
| Class=wikitable |
| valign=bottom
! rowspan=2 | War ! width="15%" rowspan=2 | Opponent(s) ! width="15%" rowspan=2 | Declaration ! width="15%" rowspan=2 | Date ! width="10%" colspan=2 | Votes ! width="20%" rowspan=2 | President ! rowspan=2 | Result |
| Senate
! House |
|---|
| War of 1812
| {{flagdeco|United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|size=23px}} United Kingdom | United States declaration of war on the United Kingdom | June 17, 1812{{efn|Officially enacted on June 18, 1812}} | 19–13 | 79–49 |
| Mexican–American War
| {{flagdeco|Second Federal Republic of Mexico|size=23px}} Mexico | United States declaration of war on Mexico | May 13, 1846 | 40–2 | 174–14 |
| Spanish–American War
| {{flagdeco|Restoration (Spain)|size=23px}} Spain | United States declaration of war on Spain | April 25, 1898 | 42–35 | 311–6 |
| World War I
| {{flagdeco|German Empire|size=23px}} Germany | United States declaration of war on Germany (1917) | April 6, 1917 | 82–6 | 373–50 | U.S.–German Peace Treaty (1921){{efn|The Treaty of Versailles failed to pass the U.S. Senate.}} |
| World War I
| {{flagdeco|Austria-Hungary|size=23px}} Austria-Hungary | United States declaration of war on Austria-Hungary | December 7, 1917 | 74–0 | 350–1 | Woodrow Wilson | U.S.–Austrian Peace Treaty (1921){{efn|The Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1919) failed to pass the U.S. Senate.}} |
| World War II
| {{flagdeco|Empire of Japan|size=23px}} Japan | United States declaration of war on Japan | December 8, 1941 | 82–0 | 388–1 |
| World War II
| {{flagdeco|Nazi Germany|size=23px}} Germany | United States declaration of war on Germany (1941) | December 11, 1941 | 88–0 | 393–0 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | German Instrument of Surrender{{efn|There wasn't a single, formal US-German peace treaty to end World War II, but the United States did officially end its state of war with Germany on October 24, 1951.}} |
| World War II
| {{flagdeco|Fascist Italy|size=23px}} Italy | United States declaration of war on Italy | December 11, 1941 | 90–0 | 399–0 | Franklin D. Roosevelt |
| World War II
| {{flagdeco|Tsardom of Bulgaria (1908–1946)|size=23px}} Bulgaria | United States declaration of war on Bulgaria | June 4, 1942 | 73–0 | 357–0 | Franklin D. Roosevelt |
| World War II
| {{flagdeco|Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946)|size=23px}} Hungary | United States declaration of war on Hungary | June 4, 1942 | 73–0 | 360–0 | Franklin D. Roosevelt |
| World War II
| {{flagdeco|Kingdom of Romania|size=23px}} Romania | United States declaration of war on Romania | June 4, 1942 | 73–0 | 361–0 | Franklin D. Roosevelt |
Undeclared wars
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=Military engagements authorized by Congress=
In other instances, the United States has engaged in extended military combat that was authorized by Congress.
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! rowspan=2 | War or conflict ! width="15%" rowspan=2 | Opponent(s) ! width="15%" rowspan=2 | Initial authorization ! width="10%" colspan=2 | Votes ! width="20%" rowspan=2 | President ! rowspan="2" |Details of Authorization ! rowspan=2 | Result |
| Senate
! House |
|---|
| Quasi-War
| {{flagdeco|France|size=23px}} France | An Act further to protect the commerce of the United States |18–4 | |Adams requested legislation allowing the United States Navy to defend American shipping after repeated attacks by the French Navy during the French Revolutionary Wars.{{Harvp|Elsea|Weed|2014|p=5-6}} |
| First Barbary War
|{{flagicon|Morocco|1666}} Morocco {{flagicon image|Maritime flag of Regency of Tripoli (18th century).svg}} Tripolitania | "An Act for the Protection of the Commerce and Seamen of the United States, Against the Tripolitan Cruisers", {{usstat|2|129}}, February 6, 1802[http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/keyevents/jefferson Key Events in the Presidency of Thomas Jefferson] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100617051313/http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/keyevents/jefferson |date=June 17, 2010 }}, [http://millercenter.org/ Miller Center of Public Affairs], University of Virginia, (retrieved on August 10, 2010). | | |President Jefferson requested legislation allowing the U. S. Navy to defend shipping in the Mediterranean Sea from Tripolitanian vessels.{{Harvp|Elsea|Weed|2014|p=6-7}} | War ended 1805 |
| style="white-space:nowrap;"| Second Barbary War
| "An Act for the protection of the commerce of the United States against the Algerine cruisers", {{usstat|3|230}}, May 10, 1815[http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/keyevents/madison Key Events in the Presidency of James Madison] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100609141600/http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/keyevents/madison |date=June 9, 2010 }}, [http://millercenter.org/ Miller Center of Public Affairs], University of Virginia, (retrieved on August 10, 2010). | | |Madison requested a declaration of war against Algiers citing attacks on U.S. shipping in the Mediterranean. Congress rejected the request for a formal war declaration but ratified legislation allowing the U.S. Navy to defend U.S. commerce. | War ended 1816 |
| Enforcing 1808 slave trade ban; naval squadron sent to African waters to apprehend illegal slave traders
| Slave traders | "Act in addition to the acts prohibiting the Slave Trade", {{usstat|3|532}}, 1819 | | | |1822 first African-American settlement founded in Liberia, 1823 U.S. Navy stops anti-trafficking patrols |
| Suppression of Piracy
|Pirates |1819 | | |The United States Congress passed legislation allowing the United States Navy to suppress piracy in response to the rise in piracy in Latin America and the Caribbean after the Spanish American wars of independence, which was later permanently codified as Title 33 of the United States Code. | |
| Redress for attack on U.S. Navy's {{USS|Water Witch|1851|6}}
| {{flag|Paraguay|1842|size=23px}} | | | | |
| Mexican Revolution
| {{flag|Mexico|1823|size=23px}} | H.J.R. 251, 38 Stat. 770 | | 337–37 | | Force withdrawn after six months. However, the Joint Resolution was likely used to authorize the Pancho Villa Expedition. In the Senate, "when word reached the Senate that the invasion had gone forward before the use-of-force resolution had been approved, Republicans reacted angrily" saying it was a violation of the Constitution, but eventually after the action had already started, a resolution was passed after the action to "justify" it since Senators did not think it was a declaration of war.Cyrulik, John M., [https://web.archive.org/web/20121202045057/http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA416074 A Strategic Examination of the Punitive Expedition into Mexico, 1916–1917]. Fort Leavenworth, KS, 2003. (Master's thesis)Wolfensberger, Don. [http://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/ACF18F1.pdf Congress and Woodrow Wilson's Introductory Forays into Mexico, an Introductory Essay]. Congress Project Seminar On Congress and U.S. Military Interventions Abroad. Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Monday, May 17, 2004 |
| Russian Civil War
| {{Flagicon image|Flag of the Commune of the Working People of Estonia.svg}} Commune of Estonia {{flagdeco|Far Eastern Republic}} Far Eastern Republic {{Flagicon image|Flag of Latvian SSR 1919.svg}} Latvia {{flagicon image|Flag of the People's Republic of Mongolia (1921-1924).svg}} Mongolian People's Party {{flagdeco|Russian SFSR|1918}} Russia {{flagicon image|Flag of the Ukrainian SSR (1919-1929).svg}} Ukraine | | | | |
| Lebanon crisis of 1958
| style="white-space:nowrap;" | {{flagicon|Lebanon}} Lebanese Opposition
|H.J. Res. 117, Public Law 85-7, Joint Resolution "To promote peace and stability in the Middle East", March 9, 1957[https://www.shafr.org/sites/default/files/U.S.-Congress-Approval-of-the-Eisenhower-Doctrine-1957.pdf Congress' Approval of the Eisenhower Doctrine 1957] |72–19 |355–61 |Eisenhower requested a legislation allowing U.S. economic and military assistance to the Middle East during the Cold War, including the ability to deploy the military in response to threatened Communist takeovers.{{Harvp|Elsea|Weed|2014|p=8-9}} |U.S. forces withdrawn, October 25, 1958 |
| Vietnam War
---- ---- | {{flagicon|People's Republic of China}} Mainland China National United Front of Kampuchea
{{flag|North Korea}} {{flagicon image|Flag of North Vietnam (1945-1955).svg|size=23px}} North Vietnam {{flagicon|Laos}} Pathet Lao {{flagicon image|FNL Flag.svg|size=23px}} South Vietnam | Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, August 7, 1964 | 88–2 | 416–0 |Johnson requested authorization for a military deployment to defend South Vietnam and U.S. military forces already stationed there from under SEATO collective security obligations, citing alleged Vietnam People's Navy attacks on United States Navy warcraft including the USS Maddox in the Gulf of Tonkin incident. Congress responded with the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.{{Harvp|Elsea|Weed|2014|p=9-10}} | U.S. forces withdrawn under terms of the Paris Peace Accords signed January 27, 1973 |
| Multinational Force in Lebanon
| {{flagicon image|Flag of the Amal Movement.svg}} Shia militias, {{nowrap|Druze militias}}, {{nowrap|{{flag|Syria|1972}}}} | S.J.Res. 159 | 54–46 | style="white-space:nowrap;" | 253–156 |Reagan announced the deployment of a small United States Marine Corps contingent of forces for peacekeeping in the Lebanese Civil War, claiming they would supervise the PLO withdrawal from Beirut and provide law enforcement, but not participate in direct combat. After Congress invoked the War Powers Resolution it and the Reagan administration negotiated a resolution allowing the marines to remain in Lebanon for 18 months.{{Harvp|Elsea|Weed|2014|p=10-12}} | |
| Persian Gulf War
| {{Flag|Ba'athist Iraq|1963}} | H.J.Res. 77 | 52–47 | 250–183 |Bush announced the deployment of 330,000 United States Armed Forces troops to Saudi Arabia in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and began diplomatic overtures to form an international coalition to defend the Arab states of the Persian Gulf. Congress approved an Authorization for Use of Military Force against Ba'athist Iraq to liberate Kuwait under United Nations Security Council Resolution 678.{{Harvp|Elsea|Weed|2014|p=12-14}} | The United Nations Security Council drew up terms for the cease-fire, April 3, 1991. The administration of George W. Bush later argued that the AUMF never expired during the build-up to the Iraq War. The United States House of Representatives voted to repeal it in 2021.{{Cite web |date=2021-07-14 |title=Repealing the 'Zombie' Iraq AUMF(s): A Clear Win for Constitutional Hygiene but Unlikely to End Forever Wars |url=https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/repealing-zombie-iraq-aumfs-clear-win-constitutional-hygiene-unlikely-end-forever-wars |access-date=2022-07-24 |website=Lawfare |language=en}} |
| War on Terror
| {{flagicon|Afghanistan|Taliban}} Afghanistan {{flagicon image|Flag of Jihad.svg}} al-Qaeda
{{flagicon image|Flag of Ahrar ash-Sham.svg}} Harakat Ahrar al-Sham al-Islamiyya {{flagicon image|Flag of Hezbi Islami Gulbuddin.svg}} Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin {{flagicon image|Flag of Jihad.svg}} Islamic Jihad Union Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan {{flagicon image|Flag of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.svg}} Lashkar-e-Jhangvi {{flagicon image|Tnsm-flag.svg}} Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi {{flagicon image|Flag of Turkistan Islamic Party.svg}} Turkistan Islamic Party {{flagicon image|Flag of Tehrik-i-Taliban.svg}} Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan ---- {{flagicon|Afghanistan|Taliban}} High Council of the Islamic Emirate {{flagicon image|Flag of Jihad.svg}} Fidai Mahaz ---- {{flagicon image|Flag of Jihad.svg}} al-Itihaad al-Islamiya {{flagicon image|Flag of the Islamic Courts Union.svg}} Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia {{flagicon image|AQMI Flag asymmetric.svg}} Harakat al-Shabaab Mujahedeen {{flagicon image|Flag of Jihad.svg}} Hizbul Islam {{flagicon image|Flag of the Islamic Courts Union.svg}} Islamic Courts Union {{flagicon image|Flag of Jihad.svg}} Jabhatul Islamiya {{flagicon image|Flag of Jihad.svg}} Mu'askar Anole {{flagicon image|Flag of Jihad.svg}} Ras Kamboni Brigades ---- {{flagicon|Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant}} Abu Sayyaf {{flagicon|Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant}} Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters {{flagdeco|ISIL}} Islamic State {{flagdeco|ISIL}} Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan {{flagicon|Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant}} Maute group {{flagicon|Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant}} Khalifa Islamiyah Mindanao | S.J. Res. 23 | 98–0 | 420–1 |Bush successfully requested a congressional authorizing the president of the United States to use military force against "those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001" as well as governments which sheltered them such as the First Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. It also allowed the president to use force to prevent future acts of terrorism. Since then the authorization has been invoked in conflicts in 22 countries against the original perpetrator of 9/11 al-Qaeda as well as other organizations such as Al-Shabaab, the Taliban, and the Islamic State. The authorization is also notable in that it delegated war powers related to terrorism from Congress to the president, and allowed the United States to make war against individuals and organizations in addition to sovereign states. The Supreme Court ruled in Hamdi v. Rumsfeld that the authorization enabled the president to detain individuals, including U.S. citizens, as enemy combatants, although it granted detainees to challenge this status in U.S. courts and further ruled in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld that they were protected by laws of war such as the Geneva Conventions and the Uniform Code of Military Justice.{{Harvp|Elsea|Weed|2014|p=14-16}}{{cite web |title=S.J.Res. 23 (107th): Authorization for Use of Military Force |url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/107/sjres23/text |access-date=May 18, 2020 |publisher=www.govtrack.us}}{{Cite web |last=Savell |first=Stephanie |date=2021-12-14 |title=The 2001 AUMF: A Comprehensive Look at Where and How It Has Been Used {{!}} Costs of War |url=https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/papers/2021/2001AUMF |access-date=2022-07-24 |website=The Costs of War |publisher=Watson Institute of International and Public Affairs |language=en |publication-place=Providence, RI}}{{Cite web |title=Hamdi v. Rumsfeld |url=https://www.oyez.org/cases/2003/03-6696 |access-date=2022-07-24 |website=Oyez |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Hamdan v. Rumsfeld |url=https://www.oyez.org/cases/2005/05-184 |access-date=2022-07-24 |website=Oyez |language=en}} | The Global War on Terror is ongoing. The United States House of Representatives voted to repeal the 2001 AUMF in 2021.{{Cite web |last=Kheel |first=Rebecca |date=2021-07-13 |title=House panel votes to repeal 2001, 2002 war authorizations |url=https://thehill.com/policy/defense/562844-house-panel-votes-to-repeal-2001-2002-war-authorizations/ |access-date=2022-07-24 |website=The Hill |language=en-US}} |
| Iraq War[https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna38944049 Obama's full speech: Operation Iraqi Freedom is Over], NBC News
| {{Flag|Ba'athist Iraq}} | H.J. Res. 114, | 77–23 | 296–132 |During the Iraq disarmament crisis Bush successfully requested an authorization of military force against Iraq citing alleged allegations of violations of United Nations Security Council resolutions including the ceasefire with Kuwait, allegations of illegal weapons of mass destruction programs, allegations of the sheltering of al-Qaeda members in the country. The Bush administration also claimed that the conflict was sanctioned by the 1991 AUMF against Iraq and by the Iraq Liberation Act of 1998 designating the overthrow of Saddam Hussein's dictatorship as a goal of U.S. foreign policy.{{Cite web |title=Iraq War Resolution of 2002 |url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/iraq_war_resolution_of_2002 |access-date=2022-07-24 |website=LII / Legal Information Institute |language=en}} | Ba'athist Iraqi government abolished April 2003, Saddam Hussein executed. War ended December 15, 2011. Destabilization of Iraq and emergence of ISIL (ISIS) in Iraq region 2014–2017.{{cite news| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/18/AR2010081805644.html | newspaper=The Washington Post | first=Ernesto | last=Londoño | title=Operation Iraqi Freedom ends as last combat soldiers leave Baghdad | date=August 19, 2010}} During the 2019–2021 Persian Gulf crisis, President Donald Trump cited the AUMF in its assassination of Qasem Soleimani. The United States House of Representatives voted to repeal the AUMF in 2021. |
=Military engagements authorized by United Nations Security Council Resolutions and funded by Congress=
In many instances, the United States has engaged in extended military engagements that were authorized by United Nations Security Council Resolutions and funded by appropriations from Congress.[http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/decad031.asp United Nations Participation Act, December 20, 1945] Sec. 6, [https://elibrary.law.psu.edu/fac_works/245/ The Commander in Chief and United Nations Charter Article 43: A Case of Irreconcilable Differences?], [https://scholarship.law.georgetown.edu/facpub/1679/ Rethinking War Powers: Congress, The President, and the United Nations]
| Class=wikitable |
| valign=bottom
! rowspan=1 | Military engagement ! rowspan=1 | Opponent(s) ! rowspan=1 | Initial authorization ! width="20%" rowspan=1 | President ! rowspan=1 | Result |
| Korean War
| {{flag|China|size=23px}} | UNSCR 84, 1950 | Korean Armistice Agreement,s:Korean Armistice Agreement 1953 |
| style="white-space:nowrap;"|Multinational Force in Lebanon
| {{flagicon image|Flag of the Amal Movement.svg}} Shia militias, {{nowrap|Druze militias}}, {{nowrap|{{flag|Syria|1972}}}} | UNSCR 425, 1978 UNSCR 426, 1978 | U.S. forces withdrew in 1984 |
| Persian Gulf War
| {{flagdeco|Iraq|1991|size=23px}} Iraq | UNSCR 678, 1990 | UNSCR 689, 1991 |
| Bosnian War
| style="white-space:nowrap;"| {{flagicon image|Flag of Republika Srpska.svg}} Republika Srpska | UNSCR 770, 1992 | Reflagged as IFOR in 1995, Reflagged as SFOR in 1996, Completed in 2004 |
| Second Liberian Civil War
|rowspan="2"|N/A | style="white-space:nowrap;"| UNSCR 1497, 2003 |rowspan="2"|George W. Bush |U.S. forces are withdrawn in 2003 after the UNMIL is established. |
| Haitian coup d'état
| UNSCR 1529, 2004 UNSCR 1542, 2004 |2004 |
| First Libyan Civil War
| {{flagdeco|Libya|1977|size=23px}} Libya | UNSCR 1973, 2011 | Debellation of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, October 31, 2011 |
=Other undeclared wars=
On at least 125 occasions, the president has acted without prior express military authorization from Congress.[https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/olc/opinions/2001/09/31/op-olc-v025-p0188_0.pdf The President's Constitutional Authority To Conduct Military Operations Against Terrorists and Nations Supporting Them] These include instances in which the United States fought in the Philippine–American War from 1898 to 1903, in Nicaragua in 1927, as well as the NATO bombing campaign of Yugoslavia in 1999, and the 2018 missile strikes on Syria.
The United States' longest war, against the Taliban in Afghanistan, began in 2001 and ended with the withdrawal of American troops on 31 August 2021.{{Cite web|author=Nicole Gaouette, Jennifer Hansler, Barbara Starr and Oren Liebermann|title=The last US military planes have left Afghanistan, marking the end of the United States' longest war|url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/30/politics/us-military-withdraws-afghanistan/index.html|access-date=2021-09-02|website=CNN|date=August 30, 2021 }}
The Indian Wars comprise at least 28 conflicts and engagements. These localized conflicts, with Native Americans, began with European colonists coming to North America, long before the establishment of the United States. For the purpose of this discussion, the Indian Wars are defined as conflicts with the United States of America. They begin as one front in the American Revolutionary War in 1775 and had concluded by 1918. The United States Army still maintains a campaign streamer for Pine Ridge 1890–1891 despite opposition from certain Native American groups.[http://www.ncai.org/ncai/resource/documents/governance/wounkneeban.htm Army Continues to Parade Wounded Knee Battle Streamer] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100510063941/http://www.ncai.org/ncai/resource/documents/governance/wounkneeban.htm |date=May 10, 2010 }}, [http://www.ncai.org National Congress of American Indians].
The American Civil War was not an international conflict under the laws of war, because the Confederate States of America (CSA) was not a government that had been granted full diplomatic recognition as a sovereign nation by other sovereign states{{cite web |url=https://history.state.gov/milestones/1861-1865/Confederacy |title=Preventing Diplomatic Recognition of the Confederacy, 1861–1865 |publisher=U.S. Department of State |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130828005906/http://history.state.gov/milestones/1861-1865/Confederacy |archive-date=August 28, 2013 |df=mdy }}{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780195313666|url-access=registration|quote=confederacy recognition.|title=This Mighty Scourge: Perspectives on the Civil War |first=James M. |last=McPherson |publisher=Oxford University Press US |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-19-531366-6 |page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780195313666/page/65 65]}} or by the government of the United States.{{cite book|author=Julius Goebel|title=The Recognition Policy of the United States|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yZkrAQAAMAAJ|year=1915|publisher=Columbia University|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=yZkrAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA172 172–174]|quote=The Confederate States did not constitute a new state and they were not independent, hence they were not entitled to treatment by the United States as a foreign state.}}
War Powers Resolution
{{main|War Powers Resolution}}
On March 21, 2011, a number of lawmakers expressed concern that the decision of President Barack Obama to order the U.S. military to join in attacks of Libyan air defenses and government forces exceeded his constitutional authority because the decision to authorize the attack was made without congressional permission.[https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/22/world/africa/22powers.html?partner=rss&emc=rss Obama Attacked for No Congressional Consent on Libya], [https://www.nytimes.com New York Times].
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}
Further reading
- {{cite book|last=Grotius|first=Hugo |title=On The Law Of War And Peace|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DsmifNoE4-QC|year=2004|publisher=Kessinger Publishing|isbn=978-1-4191-3875-1}}
- {{cite book|author1=Edwin Meese|author2=Matthew Spalding|author3=David F. Forte|title=The Heritage guide to the Constitution|year=2005|publisher=Regnery Publishing|isbn=978-1-59698-001-3|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/heritageguidetoc0000unse}}
- Kenneth A. Schultz, [http://www.press.umich.edu/pdf/0472112899-ch4.pdf Tying Hands and Washing Hands: The U.S. Congress and Multilateral Humanitarian Intervention], Ch. 4, pp 105–142, in Daniel Drezner, Ed. Locating the Proper Authorities: The Interaction of Domestic and International Institutions, University of Michigan Press, 2003.
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20070426102748/http://johnshadegg.house.gov/rsc/DeclarationofWar.PDF The House of Rep, Republican Study Committee of War and Military Authorized Conflicts. 2003.]
- [https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2002-10-08-congress-war.htm Declarations of war and votes]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20040217083525/http://www.law.ou.edu/hist/japwar.html Text of Declaration of War on Japan]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20040203101430/http://www.law.ou.edu/hist/germwar.html Text of Declaration of War on Germany]
- [http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/policy/1942/420605a.html Text of Declaration of War on Bulgaria]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20040203010528/http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/sept_11/sjres23_eb.htm Authorization for Use of Military Force] — signed September 18, 2001
- [https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2002/10/20021002-2.html House Joint Resolution Authorizing Use of Force Against Iraq] — signed October 16, 2002
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20100910042906/http://www.history.navy.mil/wars/foabroad.htm Instances of Use of United States Forces Abroad, 1798–1993]
- [http://academic.evergreen.edu/g/grossmaz/interventions.html A partial list of U.S. military interventions from 1890 to 2006]
- [http://www.america.gov/st/peacesec-english/2008/September/20080924135836idybeekcm0.5395624.html U.S.-Africa Chronology]
{{United States Congress|powersprivilegesprocedurecommitteeshistoryandmedia}}
Category:Wars involving the United States
Category:United States military law