| The War Powers Act was passed by Congress in
1973, amidst the debacle of the Vietnam War, overriding the
veto of Richard Nixon. Its purpose was to prevent future
presidents from waging open-ended undeclared wars with little
or no accountability to the legislature, which under the US
Constitution has the exclusive power to declare war. It
gives the president the right to use military force at his
discretion for up to 60 days—itself a huge extension of
presidential power—but requires withdrawal after a total of 90
days if Congress does not vote to approve the military action.
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In 1980, the Justice Department’s Office of Legal
Counsel concluded that the act was constitutional, and
no administration has sought to challenge it in court.
For major troop deployments, as in the Persian Gulf War
of 1990-91, and the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq by
in 2001 and 2003, George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush
sought congressional approval by resolution, as a
substitute for a declaration of war.More
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