Declaration of war by the United States

Maria Aguirre Professor Nejad June 4, 2014 President?s War Powers Article II, Section 2, of the United States Constitution, vests the president with the commander in chief power. The article reads as follows: "The president shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States." The Constitution gives the president the military's commander in chief power; however Article I, Section 8, Clause 11, gives the U.S. Congress and not the president the exclusive right to?declare war. Congress has the power to determine if the country will wage offensive war and against whom. Once that decision is made, the President is in charge of waging that war.