So I Guess We're at Not-War in Yemen Now, Too

We're officially at war in Iraq and Afghanistan; we're officially at not-war in Libya; we're unofficially at not-war in Pakistan; and now the unofficial not-war in Yemen is officially escalating:

The CIA is expected to begin operating armed drone aircraft over Yemen, expanding the hunt for al-Qaeda operatives in a country where counter-terrorism efforts have been disrupted by political chaos, U.S. officials said.

The plan to move CIA-operated Predator and other unmanned aircraft into the region reflects a decision by President Obama that the al-Qaeda threat in Yemen has grown so serious that patrols by U.S. military drones are not enough.

U.S. officials said the CIA would operate alongside, and in close coordination with, the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command, which has been flying Predators and other remotely piloted planes over Yemen for much of the past year.

Because it operates under different legal authorities than the military, the CIA may have greater latitude to carry out strikes if the political climate shifts in Yemen and cooperation with American forces is diminished or cut off.

...The new tasking for the agency marks a major escalation of the clandestine American war in Yemen, as well as a substantial expansion of the CIA's drone war.

Emphasis mine.

So, I guess we're just going to go around bombing every majority-Muslim country we want to now, whenever we feel like it, with or without a national conversation about going to war. Swell. Meanwhile, rightwingers continue to assert that Obama is a covert Muslim terrorist without a trace of fucking irony. What a neat country I live in!

Anyway... Kevin Drum asks: "[E]xactly what theory of military action allows President Obama to do this without congressional approval?" Good question! I would also like to know its answer!