I would disagree with your notion that we are not operating in a formal era of war in these regions. Now that does pose some issues with the current and former admin's view that we are facing enemy combatants. I would say that when you are fighting the defacto government of large portions of an area, you are in a state of war. ie: Afghanistan, Peshawar, Somalia, and what is happening in areas Boko Haram controls.
The notion that you are being provocative with about war powers has been an issue of constant debate since, well before, America's founding. To say that this is a issue to attack liberals with just shows how un-studied many on the left were when complaining about Bush. I would also say that I think Obama had a steep learning curve on the intricacies of the war on terror. I think candidate Obama had no idea just how deep this rabbit hole really goes. President Obama has done a fairly decent job of maintaining the fight in their lands, while preventing the insertion of too many US assets, most importantly being lots of boots on the ground.
