The question of how the United States should handle the alleged Iranian move towards acquiring nuclear weapons continues to occupy the news. The stories focus on whether or not the US will covertly support an Israeli strike or join Israel in directly attacking Iranian nuclear facilities. They do not focus on the question of 'Where does the President get the authority to launch an attack on Iran?' For no matter how such an attack is framed by the President it is this: an Act of War. And on the question of who may declare War, the Constitution (Article 1; Section 8) is clear - only Congress has the authority to declare War -- not the President.
This distinction is not trivial. The Constitution defines the roles, responsibilities, and limitations of the United States Government. It is the Law. Congress, the Courts, and the President are bound to follow the Constitution as are every member of the Military. If the President orders a military strike against Iran, without clear, direct authority from Congress, he has commited a crime and should be impeached. Furthmore, senior military officers who follow the President's illegal order to attack Iran will have also commited a crime by violating their oath to 'support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic.'
Iran is not a threat to the United States. An undeclared war upon Iran by the President is a threat to the United States. Such an act is the declaration that the United States is a Military Dictatorship with the President having unlimited Powers. That is not what the Patriots of 1776 risked everything for.
It's time for the 2nd American Revolution......