War Powers

Who has the authority to take the country to war - Congress or the President? Constitutionally, it takes both. The President is commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the United States. Military leaders report to him, and he ultimately is responsible for strategic U.S. military objectives and operations. Congress, on the other hand, has the power to raise revenue to provide for the common defense, raise armies, maintain a navy, and write rules governing U.S. land and naval forces. Significantly, Congress also has the power to declare war; but does that mean the President cannot engage in war without congressional authorization? This is a subject of ongoing interpretive dispute between Congress and the President that gets to the core of the Constitution's allocation of war powers.