Definition of "hostilities" []

• Plural form of hostility. (noun)
• Acts of war (noun)

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• "The War Powers Act of 1973 specifically states “The constitutional powers of the President as Commander-in-Chief to introduce United States Armed Forces into hostilities, or into situations where imminent involvement in hostilities is clearly indicated by the circumstances, are exercised only pursuant to (1) a declaration of war, (2) specific statutory authorization, or (3) a national emergency created by attack upon the United States, its territories or possessions, or its armed forces.”"
• "On this view, however, it has a further technical case of legality as a direct participant in hostilities — curiously — if it engages in drone strikes within the context of something thatis an acknowledged armed conflict, e.g., the border areas of Pakistan, precisely because it is an armed conflict and the technical rules of combatancy apply."
• "Its ultimate legal status upon the cessation of hostilities is an entirely other matter upon which the presence of absence of force is by no means dispositive, especially in the context of a defensive war."