Lately I've been giving the state of our Nation a lot of thought and more specifically the abuse of power that our President is in the midst of. I keep hearing that our state of War is the reason for so many constitutional abuses and the passing of laws that could very well destroy any true freedoms we still have. So, I began to think of the fact that I do not recall the Congress declaring war, only giving the President permission to take action in the Middle East. Now with that said, is it not true that there actually is no true state of war in existance to back up these so called reasons for the attack on our freedoms and rights. Let me present this bit of information:

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Controversy regarding U.S. declarations of war

Those who oppose waging war without declaration point to Article I of the Constitution, which reads The Congress shall have the power to declare war.

In the case of smaller conflicts not requiring large commitments of manpower and money, many Americans believe that precedents have already been set for acting without the need for declarations of war. In the case of major conflicts, however, debate is centered around the aforesaid words of the United States Constitution.

Those who believe that formal declarations of war are not necessary say that an absence of a formal declaration does not necessarily mean that a military conflict will be chaotic and unlawful; in many cases the rules of war are now well enough accepted to make formal declarations unnecessary. There are also diplomatic reasons for a dislike of "declaring war" on a country, as it can often be perceived as holding an entire nation responsible for the actions of a few of its citizens. In the case of the most recent public opposition, those who support such actions have noted that, in the case of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, there was no 'target' for a legal declaration of war, rather political groups or individuals.

However, the historical record disagrees somewhat on this point. The Barbary Coast War was clearly waged against a political entity not regarded as the legitimate government of its nation of operation; the Border War, quietly declared as it was, was waged against a single person, Pancho Villa.

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for further information on Congress the President, declarations of war,  the Constitution and PL 93-148 (the Wars Powers Resolution 1973) please go here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declaration_of_war_by_the_United_States