re: what can congress do to stop the war?

A.W., I really think you are throwing up a strawman here.

You quote this line From Dr. Paul's speech: "Voting no also makes the legitimate point that the Constitution does not authorize Congress to direct the management of any military operation – the president clearly enjoys this authority as Commander in Chief".

Then you go on to imply that that means the president "has free reign to do whatever he wants". Sorry, but how does that follow? He still must follow all the laws of the country. This includes laws that forbid our armed forces from raping and murdering civilians, for example.

Specifying a timeline for withdrawal of troops falls into micromanagement. Dr. Paul is questioning where the authority for such a thing lies in the Constitution, and I don't think Epstein has found it. I would like to see a precedent where Congress ever passed a law specifying a timeline for troop withdrawal during a war - if anybody has that information please leave a comment.

The war in Iraq was a huge mistake (as I've been saying since before it started). Dr. Paul is telling Congress that if they take their actual, enumerated powers seriously, e.g. the power to declare (or not declare) war and to pass (or not pass) laws that fund wars, they could yet pull us out of this debacle right now.