Because the US has so many bases worldwide, it's always under some kind of attack. Iran for example has been aiding openly the groups that attack American bases in the Middle East for decades. The Beirut Barracks Bombing is a tragic example. This law is too vague in scope, and really just acquiesces Congress' constitutional power to decide who to wage war against to the President in a very limp way.
The Congress is also fundamentally a popularity contest, and wartime Presidents generally gain popularity in the short-term, for better or worse. So again, Congress digs its own hole and blames the Presidency for all the dirt on the ground. Grifters the whole lot!
For what it's worth, although Trump is famous for his strong Presidency, he's merely wielding a sword that FDR forged, and was polished and filed to a savage edge through successive presidencies. FDR really prototyped the obsequious wartime Congress that acts as a rubber stamp for creating the endless bureaucracy we now call "the deep state." And it is within this "deep state" that presidential fall guys are born and bred, Oliver North being a relevant example. This trend has continued unabated for the most part with Presidents from each party, reaching its zenith in the extrajudicial killing of American citizen Anwar al-Awlaki in 2011 by order of President Obama, a disturbing innovation in both constitutional law and drone warfare.
The Congress is also fundamentally a popularity contest, and wartime Presidents generally gain popularity in the short-term, for better or worse. So again, Congress digs its own hole and blames the Presidency for all the dirt on the ground. Grifters the whole lot!
For what it's worth, although Trump is famous for his strong Presidency, he's merely wielding a sword that FDR forged, and was polished and filed to a savage edge through successive presidencies. FDR really prototyped the obsequious wartime Congress that acts as a rubber stamp for creating the endless bureaucracy we now call "the deep state." And it is within this "deep state" that presidential fall guys are born and bred, Oliver North being a relevant example. This trend has continued unabated for the most part with Presidents from each party, reaching its zenith in the extrajudicial killing of American citizen Anwar al-Awlaki in 2011 by order of President Obama, a disturbing innovation in both constitutional law and drone warfare.