Defining War

The advent of drones has resulted in a failure to observe the Constitution, which says that Congress shall declare war. Or, is it that the definition of war has changed? If we don't send troops to kill someone, then killings by machines are not considered war. If the President can send troops to Africa or Australia without seeking Congressional approval, then the dispatch of troops is not considered war. If it's the CIA and not the military that controls the drones, then it's not considered war. Would we consider it war if Pakistan sent a killer drone to Chicago?

Peter Singer has an excellent discussion of the issue in today's NY Times. He argues that our current use of drones is undermining democracy. 

Singer also has a few interesting comments about our current attitudes toward war:

We don’t have a draft anymore; less than 0.5 percent of Americans over 18 serve in the active-duty military. We do not declare war anymore; the last time Congress actually did so was in 1942 — against Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania. We don’t buy war bonds or pay war taxes anymore. During World War II, 85 million Americans purchased war bonds that brought the government $185 billion; in the last decade, we bought none and instead gave the richest 5 percent of Americans a tax break.