I’m not opposed in principle to using military force to decimate this group of coldblooded maniacs. In the end, it should come down to a clear-eyed assessment of the threat they pose to the United States. Over the past few weeks, I’ve heard compelling evidence on both sides of that argument.

There’s just one problem: bombing a nation — even when it’s mainly to attack sub-state actors operating within it — is unquestionably an act of war. And debates about whether to go to war should be taking place in Congress, with our elected representatives taking a stand one way or another. The refusal to take that stand is a monumental evasion of Congress’s constitutionally delineated responsibility.

That this shirking of responsibility is a product of abject cowardice and self-protectiveness makes it especially contemptible.