Did the US declare war?

[Raellus]

Originally Posted by chico20854

In the v1 timeline, it appears that war was not declared.

Howling Wilderness states:

"From the bomb shelter under the east wing of
the White House (built during President Truman's tenure, and
never intended to withstand a direct hit), Vice President Pemberton,
after identifying herself, issued a proclamation of the existence
of a state of war (only Congress has the power to declare
war, and that body was not in session), and ordered retaliatory
strikes on the USSR. She was killed a few minutes later when
the missile detonated."

Are we sure that's the only canonical reference to a Constitutional basis for war between the USA and the USSR? It seems wild to me that the US Congress made no official declaration of war between November 1996, when the US committed troops to combat action against Soviet forces in East Germany, and the TDM almost a year later. What is Congress doing that whole time? Reauthorizing successive 60-day periods, in line with the War Powers Resolution of 1973? That seems like a waste of time, and something that would, procedurally and fiscally at the very least, interfere with conversion to the total war economy necessary to fight a large-scale, high-intensity war in multiple regions of the world against a rival world power.

Could there be some other reason, perhaps one related to the laws of succession, for the reference in HW? Maybe the VP was reasserting that a state of war existed, thereby giving herself the legal authorization to give the launch order to STRATCOM.

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