[lbo-talk] Wars are Constitutional only if declared by Congress...

[Carl G. Estabrook]

> A "60 Minutes" interviewer asked US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta how
> many shooting wars the US was currently engaged in. Panetta laughed
> and couldn't (or wouldn't) give a number:
>
>
> (CBS News)
>
> In an interview for "60 Minutes," CBS Evening News anchor Scott Pelley
> sat down with Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta to talk about the many
> places in the world that America is taking action. An excerpt follows.
>
> Pelley: How many countries are we currently engaged in a shooting war?
>
> Panetta: It's a good question. (laughs) That's, you know, it's --
>
> Pelley: You have to stop and count.
>
> Panetta: I'll have to stop and think about that because, you know,
> obviously we're going after al Qaeda wherever they're at. And clearly
> we're confronting al Qaeda in Pakistan. We're confronting the nodes of
> al Qaeda in Yemen, Somalia, North Africa. And obviously whatever al
> Qaeda links are involved in Afghanistan.
>
> Pelley: Have we defeated al Qaeda?
>
> Panetta: Not yet. They're still a real threat. There's still al Qaeda
> out there. And we've gotta [sic] continue to put pressure on them  
> wherever
> they're at.
>
> http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_162-57366213/panetta-al-qaeda-is-still-a-real-threat/