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In all fairness, if Bush was a war criminal aren't we obligated to apply the same standard to Obama for doing exactly the same thing?
We pointed out that since only Congress can declare war there actually was no war in Afghanistan or Iraq. That it was a war declared by Bush. That only Congress can define what is war by declaring it. That Bush's proud claim that he was a "war president" was false because there was no war. That Bush's claim that he was "The Commander in Chief" was false because that title only applies when the military has been called into service and that hadn't been done because Congress had not declared war. That the actions in Iraq and Afghanistan were constitutionally illegal.
An article I saw somewhere said that with Obama's escalation by 30,000 more troops of the so-called war in Afghanistan, that war is now Obama's war.
Actually, Obama had a very narrow window of time in which to rid himself of any association with the illegal actions in Iraq and Afghanistan, and he missed it. That window of time was open on January 20, 2009 and it closed the next day. And on that day, the illegal actions in those countries became Obama's by default, because he allowed them to continue.
Not only did he allow them to continue, he is now increasing the death and destruction there by sending more troops.
I voted for Obama and had great hopes for him. He is literate, intelligent and rational, but like Bush, he is not familiar with constitutional principles. He is as guilty as Bush for doing the same things that Bush did.
Here's what a constitutional scholar and new president succeeding Bush would say on his election day when asked by the Pentagon about what to do in Iraq and Afghanistan:
"I am not the Commander in Chief of the military until such time as that title becomes constitutional with the declaration of war by Congress. I can't touch either of those military actions because they are illegal and I would become an accessory after the fact and complicit in a war crime.
"The actions in those countries belong to George Bush. He declared war there, they are his wars, not mine. If you want to continue those illegal wars, you'll have to go down to Dallas and talk to Bush. It's up to him if he wants to continue with them and pay for them out of his own pocket. Bush kept the US government and military involved in his wars until the end of his administration, but I am withdrawing all military and financial support in those countries as of today, the beginning of my administration. It's over. Get used to it."
