(CNN) President Bush said Thursday that an uncovered British terror plot to blow up planes flying to the United States was further proof "that this nation is at war with Islamic fascists." MM&N Commentary Are we at war? It seems that we must, as we are expending lives and treasure on foreign soil. But I question the premise, especially when it is used as a predicate for us to do something or not something. The formulation is, for example, that since we're at war, we need domestic espionage. In the context of the U.S. Constitution, when can war exist? Under Article I, Section 8, only the Congress can declare war. The last time Congress declared war was World War II. Today's conflict constitutionally speaking is at most an undeclared war. The founding fathers were united in vesting the legislature with war-making authority. "The constitution vests the power of declaring war in Congress," Geroge Washington wrote. "Therefore no offensive expedition of importance can be undertaken until after they shall have deliberated upon the subject and authorized such a measure." The authorization for the present conflict is section three of the Congressional Resolution on Iraq: (a) AUTHORIZATION- The President is authorized to use the Armed Forces of the United States as he determines to be necessary and appropriate in order to (1) defend the national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq; and (2) enforce all relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions regarding Iraq. These fuzzy statements are the legal basis for our involvement in Iraq. It's ironic that an administration that prides itself on recruiting jurists committed to a philosophy of strict constructionism conveniently adopt an interpretation of the constitution so elastic that none of our founding fathers would recognize it.