Should Congress Declare War?

[xaxer]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congress should explicitly declare war against al Qaeda to make clear the United States can detain suspected members as long as the conflict lasts, U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey said on Monday.

http://tinyurl.com/6b88y8




I think Congress should myself, They( Al Qaeda) have declared war on us , we return the favor and keep them at GITMO till the "WAR" is over.

[Jyn]

The thing about Al Qaeda is that they are not an official, uniformed force that fights on behalf of a legitimate government/country. Does this affect our ability to fight them in any way? Besides the example of a supposed benefit to declaring war mentioned in that article, are there any other reasons to do so?

I've heard talk about technicalities involved in fighting non-uniformed combatants. Does anyone know what this involves?

Would officially declaring war on a specific body of people that do not represent any legitimate country give them more rights than they have had up until now?

[drasoini]

This would also pose a problem in that we would have to declare war on EVERY group that in any way associates itself with Al Qaeda. Some of the groups working in Iraq are not Al Qaeda linked. Heck, some of the groups in Afghanistan aren't linked!

[Savaric]

No, it's corny to even consider the idea.

[Katidyd]

It is as ridiculous as the war on drugs because the war can not be won without the full cooperation of its host country, government, and civilian population.

I would like to see the war won, but the dynamics of such a war makes it impossible.