Truthout: Obama Declares Perpetual War
Meet the "new war" just like the old one. 
Obama Declares Perpetual War
Monday, 15 September 2014 10:15
By Marjorie Cohn * Truthout
President Barack Obama escalated the drone war he has conducted for the past five and a half years by declaring his intention to "degrade and ultimately destroy" the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, or ISIL. Since August 8, Obama has mounted at least 154 airstrikes in Iraq. He will send 475 additional US troops, increasing the total number in Iraq to about 1,600. Obama announced he would conduct "a systematic campaign of airstrikes" in Iraq, and possibly in Syria. But, not limiting himself to those countries, Obama declared the whole world his battlefield, stating "We will hunt down terrorists who threaten our country, wherever they are . . . if you threaten America, you will find no safe haven."
If, indeed, there were an imminent threat of attack on the United States, Obama would be legally entitled to launch a military operation. The United Nations Charter, which prohibits the use of military force, allows an exception when a country acts in self-defense. Under the well-established Caroline doctrine, the "necessity for self-defense must be instant, overwhelming, leaving no choice of means, and no moment for deliberation." The only problem is, Obama admitted, "We have not yet detected specific plotting against our homeland." Citing only the vague possibility of future "deadly attacks," Obama nevertheless declared a perpetual war with no specific end time.
The only other exception to the UN Charter's prohibition on military force is when the Security Council has given its approval. Obama said he would chair a meeting of the Council in two weeks' time to "mobilize the international community." But the Charter requires that the Council countenance the military operation before it occurs. The proposed resolution the Council is slated to adopt will reportedly call on countries to criminalize recruitment and travel of foreign fighters that join extremist military forces, and require the sharing of airline passenger information. It will not, however, authorize military force. Obama's war violates the UN Charter, a treaty the United States has ratified, making it part of US law under the Supremacy Clause of the US Constitution.
http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/26187-obama-declares-perpetual-war
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