U.S. President Barack Obama's 13-minute speech at the Oval office emphasized that respect for religious freedom. He then underlined the fact that threatens to undermine the U.S Constitution - war against ISIS is still illegal.
The president did remind Americans that congress has not authorized any military action against ISIS, though the world knows that U.S have been dropping bombs on several countries in an effort to exterminate ISIS. The bombings began since August of 2014.
According to Article I, section eight of the U.S Constitution, only the Congress has the power to authorize or declare war. This is not a duty of the executive branch. Congress must also authorize war 90 days after any combat missions commence according to War Powers Act.
What the U.S president said in his speech is nothing new. Since January, Obama has been half-heartedly calling on the Congress to authorize the war against ISIS. He said toward the end of his speech to, "go ahead and vote to authorize the continued use of military force against these terrorists". This reminded millions of Americans watching the speech at home that Congress has not yet given any legal power for the war against ISIS.
This 16-month war against ISIS has been wage largely from air alongside Arab and Western partners and has been fought using legislation that was passed on September 18, 2001. This legislation is used to specifically target those people who are responsible for the tragedy that befell on 9/11, name Al Qaeda. The White House said that ISIS is "the true inheritor" of Al Qaeda, thus it is just right to use the mentioned legislation, which is also known as The Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF).
At the moment the public is having a hard time figuring out who is to blame with such issue: the Congress, which has been so scared or hesitant of doing its job and casting a vote against this war; or the administration which has forced an extremely questionable legal theory on the American public. Barack Obama's speech still offers vague answers regarding the war that has put the whole world on red alert.
