Obama more like Bush every day.

• Author: Rothschild, Matthew
• Position: COMMENT - Barack Obama and George W. Bush's war powers

President Obama is sounding and acting more and more like George W. Bush these days.

Like Bush, he is waging war without Congressional authorization, as required by the Constitution, and without U.N. Security Council approval, as required by international law.

Like Bush, he asserts, "I have the authority" to wage war unilaterally, including in Syria. (And Obama has done it before, remember, in Libya, to horrible effect.)

Like Bush, Obama said he would "welcome Congressional support," but he doesn't need it. Actually, Obama said the same thing a little over a year ago when he threatened to bomb Syria to overthrow Bashar al-Assad. Now he's bombing Syria to attack Assad's chief enemy.

Like Bush, he's expanding the number of U.S. servicemen and women in harm's way. Obama keeps saying there will be no boots on the ground in Iraq or Syria, but he already has sent 1,600 "advisers" to Iraq: That's 3,200 boots right there. And the chairman of the Joint Chiefs is tenderizing the American public to soften them up to the idea that U.S. ground troops will be necessary.

Like Bush, Obama has cobbled together a coalition of the willing, or in Obama's terms, "a broad coalition of partners." The day he launched airstrikes against Syria, he said: "We were joined in this action by our friends and partners--Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Bahrain, and Qatar."

That's odd, because Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar have been the biggest funders of Sunni fundamentalism around the world, including in Syria and Iraq.

If these "friends and partners" hadn't been aiding our enemies for so long, ISIS wouldn't even exist.

Like Bush, Obama acted as though the United Nations was insignificant.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power, in a letter to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, said that the United States was coming to the aid of Iraq, and she invoked Article 51 of the U.N. Charter, which states: "Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defense if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations, until the Security Council has taken measures necessary to maintain international peace and security."

First of all, there is a huge question as to whether "collective self-defense" includes cross-border bombing raids.

And secondly, what was the hurry? The Security Council was set to meet in less than forty-eight hours, with Obama himself presiding, and that is the body that is...