On September 18, 2012, President Barack Obama appeared on "Late Show With David Letterman" on the CBS television network.  President Obama said we are not at war now.  Here is the text of this portion of the interview:

Letterman:     The Ambassador to Libya killed in an attack on the consulate in Benghazi.

Obama:          Right.

Letterman:     Is this an act of war?  Are we at war now?

Obama:          No.

Letterman:     What happens here?

You can watch this portion of the interview here.

After the attack against the United States of America on September 11, 2001, Congress passed Senate Joint Resolution 23, on September 14, 2001, which authorized the President to "use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons . . . ."  President Bush signed this legislation into law on September 18, 2001 (P.L. 107-40, 115 Stat. 224 (2001)).

Even if President Obama's position is that the attack in Benghazi was not perpetrated by anybody who fits the description in this law, the fact remains that the United States is still at war with people who fit the description.

Allan J. Favish is an attorney in Los Angeles.  His website is allanfavish.com.  He has co-authored with James Fernald a new book about what might happen if the government ran Disneyland entitled Fireworks! If the Government Ran the Fairest Kingdom of Them All (A Very Unauthorized Fantasy).