President Barack Obama meets in the Situation Room with his national security advisors to discuss strategy in Syria, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Secretary of State John Kerry, on behalf of President Obama, is before Congress seeking approval to perform military actions in Syria. The President, however, has indicated that he may pursue military action even if he doesn’t get Congressional approval.
Under Article 8, Section 1 of the Constitution, “Congress shall have the power to declare war." Yet, the US has engaged in acts of war without Congressional approval dating back to the Quasi War of the John Adams administration all the way up to contemporary conflicts as recent as Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya.
The last time Congress actually declared war was World War II.
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Related: Learn more about American Presidents and Congressional War Authorization