United States: Section 3 - Force Structures

摘要

Under the U.S. Constitution, the president is the commander in chief of the nation's military. It is more than a ceremonial title. The president has authority over administering the Department of Defense and can, through the military chain of command, begin or terminate military operations virtually at will, although Congress ultimately has effective control over the military through its legislative power and its effective control of the funds used by the military. Congress also has the sole power to declare war, but the commitment of military forces to battle without a declaration of war has been a frequent occurrence in U.S. history, and the constitutional requirement that Congress declare war rather than the president is now seen as met whenever it either explicitly authorizes military action in a given case or delegates to the president the discretion to commit forces as the president deems necessary.