>>>"If you invade and destroy a country that has not attacked you, what would you call it? not war apparently."
I would call it an invasion, I would call it an occupation, I would call it a brutal military action. Those are all legally viable terms. War has its own legal definition, which does not apply.
I might call it an act of war especially if I were on the receiving end but that would not qualify as a legal term related to what our constitution considers to be war.
So, if you are going to ask if it (war) is legal or illegal, you must first define the term properly.
War: Open and declared conflict between the armed forces of two or more states or nations.
Article I, Section 8, Clause 11 of the U.S. Constitution gives Congress alone the power to declare war. In addition, Congress is given sole authority by the Constitution "To raise and support armies" and "To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the Union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions." The U.S. Constitution also spells out the military powers of the president of the United States: he or she serves as commander in chief of the U.S. armed forces. Throughout U.S. history, however, there have been conflicts between the two branches (legislative and executive) over who has the greatest military power. And, often, regardless of Constitutional right, the Executive Branch holds forth.
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