This country has a written Constitution, in which, that Constitution makes very clear that "the Congress shall have the power… to declare war." This means that war cannot be declared by the judicial branch and cannot be declared by the Executive branch, even though, the Executive is granted the status of commander in chief in the Congressional declaration of war as authorized by the Constitution. Unfortunately, though this Constitutional rule is quite clear, the last time that the Congress declared war as per their Constitutional powers was World War II, and therefore, all wars since then, whether called war or a semantic version of war since that time, have been authorized instead by the Executive branch.
There are many reasons why the declaration of war by the Executive branch is the preferred policy, of those that are the integral parts of the military-industrial complex, with the most obvious reason being, that it is far easier to convince one executive, of the righteousness and appropriateness of warfare, than the 535 members of Congress, which can hardly agree on anything without endless bickering, compromising, backroom deals, and the like. In addition, as they say, time is money, so any delayed entry into foreign excursions, or a delay in getting involved in various hot spots in the world, is opportunity lost, and quite frankly, for those that are in the war business, hindrance in their ultimate raison d'état, blood profits of war. After all, if the biggest and most powerful military-industrial complex has nothing to actually do, nowhere to exert themselves, no foreign enemies that are a menace or a clear and present danger, than what possibly could be the justification for increasing their budgets, their profits, and their personnel, year by year?
If, Congress will not assert themselves against the Executive power which has aligned itself with the military-industrial complex than America will be caught within an endless cycle of wars, wars, and more wars, always spun as for the betterment or for the protection of mankind, but war should in virtually every instant, be the very last resort in regards to resolving conflict and issues, yet, too often, anything that goes askew with one of our so-called enemies, or appears unjust, necessitates a response, as if might makes right, which is in actuality, the law of animals, or the law of the jungle.
Still, be what it may, the Executive does have the power to say no, the fact that the Executive appears seldom to use such discretionary power, indicates that either the Executive is in lockstep with the military-industrial complex, or that the Executive does not have the courage to do so. In point of fact, since World War II, this country has been bypassing Congress again and again, to fight wars all over the globe, but are we or the world even one step closer to a lasting peace, or harmony, or even safety? The answer is clear, that we are not, which isn't surprising, for those that will not turn their swords into ploughshares are not peace markers, but instead are the very instruments that keep humanity endlessly tied up into the chains of oppression and hate, for they know not good.