Undeclared war
An undeclared war is a military conflict between two or more nations without either side issuing a formal declaration of war. The term is sometimes used to include any disagreement or conflict fought about without an official declaration. Since the United Nations police action in Korea[1], a number of democratic governments have pursued disciplinary actions and limited warfare by characterizing them as something else such as a military action or armed response.
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United States
There is no specific format required under United States law for the way an official war declaration will be structured or delivered. The United States Constitution states: "The Congress shall have Power […] To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water".[2]
As of August 2013, the United States Congress has only formally declared war 13 times, and has not done so since 1942.[3] The United States did not war during its more than decade-long involvement in Vietnam, although the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution authorized the escalation and use of military force in the Vietnam War without a formal declaration of war.[4] On at least 125 occasions a US president has employed military forces without authorization from Congress.[5] One of the most significant of these occasions was the Korean War, a conflict that resulted in over 142,000 American casualties.[5]
References
- Truman, Harry S. (29 June 1950). "The President's News Conference of June 29, 1950". Teachingamericanhistory.org. Retrieved 4 January 2011.
- "U.S. Constitution - Article 1 Section 8".
- Franke-Ruta, Garance (31 August 2019). "All the Previous Declarations of War". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2019-09-01.
- "The Law: The President's War Powers". Time. 1 June 1970. Retrieved 28 September 2009.
- Yoo, John C.; Delahunty, Robert J. (2002). "The President's Constitutional Authority to Conduct Military Operations Against Terrorist Organizations and the Nations that Harbor or Support Them". SSRN Working Paper Series: 502. doi:10.2139/ssrn.331202. ISSN 1556-5068.