Warfare, and to an extent foreign policy in general, is unlike every other endeavor of a nation. Sometimes we cannot know the real story behind a specific military action. Sometimes it's because of classified information, and sometimes it's because of the weakness of the American people. A good President has to make decisions based on reality, not political popularity. So it can be necessary to commit forces to battle on nothing more than his or her word, and the American people, given their choice of him or her as their Commander-in-Chief, need to have a presumption of trust in that individual. If that presumption is abused by a President, then Congress has the power to defund an operation (generally unwise, as victory must ALWAYS be the priority in any military operation) and/or impeach and remove him or her. In any case, the operation launched must be completed by victory. Another other approach will simply open the way for other powers not hampered by our liberal democracy to inevitably rule over us.
In this liberal democracy that is imposed on America, the people have the ultimate authority in such matters, in that they are the ones who select the Commander-in-Chief. Questions can be asked, and debates PRIOR to commitment of forces can be held. Yet at the end of the day, the President--empowered by the American people--makes the decision.
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Sorry, but that is the cold hard reality. Some may not like it. They may join in a Paultard chant of "Fascism!" and "Conspiracy!" but it remains true.
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"Our country—In her intercourse with foreign nations may she always be in the right, and always successful, right or wrong."–Commodore Stephen Decatur, 1816.
