Garrett Epps gives the Obama administration far too much credit for proposing an authorization resolution for the war on ISIS:

The administration has at least done the minimum.

Obama is the one that launched the illegal war in question, so it’s simply false that he and his administration have “done the minimum” that is required of them. They have belatedly paid lip service to Congress’ role in matters of war because they didn’t expect anything to come of it and because they have acknowledged it will have no effect on the conduct of the war. If they were doing “the minimum,” they would have sought Congressional authorization immediately and they ought to have done so before the U.S. plunged into another ill-considered, open-ended military intervention. The “minimum” would have to include not waging a war illegally for twelve months.

Congress’ abdication in this case is egregious and inexcusable, but it is one that has been strongly encouraged by Obama ever since the war began last year. Obama didn’t and doesn’t think a new authorization is necessary, and so couldn’t care less whether Congress ever rubber stamps the new war. Congress ought to be trying to rein in the executive here, and they are an embarrassment for failing to do so, but the president deserves full blame for starting and continuing yet another illegal war. Obama doesn’t deserve and shouldn’t get any credit for asking for an authorization months after he started a war.