Why Not Mercenaries?

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Waging war is a very serious matter. Commendably, U. S. Presidents and Congress are very reluctant to authorize the use of the Armed Forces of the United States. And yet, the U.S. has enemies, and often the national interest requires the use of military force short of a formal declaration of war. When diplomacy is exhausted, and military action is called for, Congress and the President need more than the two binary options of, either a formal declaration of war, or inaction. Currently, covert actions, or executive orders of questionable constitutionality, are the Presidential alternatives. But neither may be adequate in some cases. So, why not bring back letters of marque? The Founding Fathers wrote them into the Constitution for good reason.

Saint Therese of Britannia

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Theresa May met her foretold destiny with elegance and softness. For too long a time she knew she could not bring Humpty Dumpty together again but needed to attempt to restitute political strength to her party. When she finally realized that the latter goal was unreachable, she submitted her resignation. Theresa May was thus trapped by the popular revolt and the refusal to address it by  political leadership. She will most probably be remembered by posterity as the patron saint of headaches just like her predecessor and namesake St Theresa of Avila.

¿Por qué no mercenarios?

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Pelear guerras es un asunto muy serio. Consecuentemente, los Presidentes de EEUU y el Congreso son reticentes a autorizar la utilización de las fuerzas armadas. Sin embargo, EEUU tiene enemigos, y a menudo el interés nacional requiere el uso de fuerza militar sin una declaración formal de guerra. Cuando la diplomacia se agota y se requiere acción militar, el Congreso y el Presidente necesitan más de  las dos opciones de o una declaración formal de guerra, o la inacción. Actualmente, operaciones encubiertas, u órdenes ejecutivas de dudosa constitucionalidad, son alternativas presidenciales. Pero en algunos casos ninguna de las dos puede ser adecuada. Entonces, ¿por qué no restablecer patentes de corso? Los Padres Fundadores las incluyeron en la Constitución por buenas razones.