Quote:
Originally posted by Sly_RJ
Technically, it's not war. But basically, it is war with various provisions. Time limits, etc. Came into play when Johnson wanted to blast that ship in the Bay of Tonka (older guys, is that what it was? I forget my history class.)
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A President cannot declare war. Since the introduction of the War Powers act a President can engage our military for up to ninety days without Congressional approval. Congress controls the purse strings and can cease to fund the engagement after ninety days. This happened to President Nixon. President Nixon promised South Vietnam that if North Vietnam did not abide by the peace agreements he would begin another round of heavy bombing of the North (which is what convinced the North to sign peace agreements in the first place). The North violated the peace agreements but Nixon could not respond with air power because the Congress had cut him off at the knees by cutting off funding for any further action in Vietnam.