The United States Constitution is supposed to be the highest law of the land, and further the interpretation of that Constitution is supposed to be consistent with the principles and words of that same Constitution. However, when it comes to war, which would seem to be one of those things, that should concern all Americans -- somehow, the Executive office has, over time, morphed into being the alternative power to declare war, and this is done, without even the need to consult with the congress, even though the Constitution through Article 1, Section 8, declares that "…Congress shall have the power… to declare War…"
The United States, through the Executive office, believes that simply through creative use of semantics that acts of war, as long as they are not specifically designated as being a war are therefore considered to be a power rightfully in the hands of the Executive office. This thus means, that wars against Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Yemen, Vietnam, and so on, are somehow perceived as being something other than war, though they are described by the media and other countries as wars, are perceived by the combatants to be war, and contain all the elements of war; yet, somehow they are not war, for only Congress has the constitutional power to declare war.
The reality of the situation is that America, since the conclusion of World War II, has made a conscious choice to become a worldwide empire. This thus means, that the duties of an empire, cannot afford the luxury of being hindered or impugned by Congress, in which those that are members of the Congress, are simply too numerous to be fully controlled, 100 percent of the time, by the powers that insist upon their exclusive right to wage war, in order to thereby profit and to defend large multinational corporations, bankers, and the technology-industrial-military complex.
This signifies that America has devolved into the very thing, it was never suppose to become, in which, through Executive orders and the war power as exercised by the Executive office, this republic behaves as like monarchies of old, in which Kings and Queens, declared war, and the citizens, obeyed. All of this is successfully accomplished, by administration after administration, with the general public, and the Congress, never seeming to have any real relevancy upon the matter, because neither the people, nor the Congress, nor the judicial branch, will actually assert their own Constitutional powers against the Executive office.
Yet, the Constitution is the highest law of the land, of which, even the Executive office has sworn to preserve, protect and to defend that Constitution. This thus means that the only way out of these endless wars that are sold to the general public as necessary to defend American citizens, from terrorists, or bad guys, or to supposedly propagate fine American values, is for the people, the congress, and the judicial branch, to rise up and to actually assert that our Constitution needs to be adhered to; or that in absence of this being done, that the Constitution, needs to be Constitutionally amended to reflect that the Executive office can declare war, on whomever or whatever that office so desires, without debate, vote, or discussion.
As it is, the Executive office does not have the Constitutional power to declare war; yet, somehow that office consistently behaves and thereby commits those corresponding actions, as if it does.