As frustration is building among federal lawmakers over President Joe Biden’s recent retaliatory airstrikes on facilities in Syria that the administration said belonged to Iran-backed militia groups, a bipartisan group of senators on Wednesday introduced legislation to rein in some of the president’s war powers.
Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.) reintroduced a resolution (pdf) to repeal the 1991 and 2002 Authorizations for Use of Military Force (AUMF) against Iraq. The measure — which notably leaves out the 2001 AUMF that passed after the 9/11 attacks — is co-sponsored by Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and Rand Paul (R-Ky).
“Last week’s airstrikes in Syria show that the executive branch, regardless of party, will continue to stretch its war powers,” Kaine said in as statement. “Congress has a responsibility to not only vote to authorize new military action, but to repeal old authorizations that are no longer necessary.”
“The 1991 and 2002 AUMFs that underpinned the war against Iraq need to be taken off the books to prevent their future misuse,” he added. “They serve no operational purpose, keep us on permanent war footing, and undermine the sovereignty of Iraq, a close partner. I call on Congress to promptly take up this measure and for the Biden administration to support it to finally show the American people that the Article I and II branches can work together on these issues.”
Not one, but TWO of our Advocacy Team members were published in the Washington Post yesterday on AUMF repeal!
“War is not the answer. [C]ongress should pass the bipartisan resolution introduced by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) to repeal the existing AUMFs now.” https://t.co/LEDgJLNkgZ
— FCNL (Quakers) (@FCNL) March 3, 2021
The move came as Biden is facing criticism from lawmakers and legal scholars over the February 25 “revenge” bombing that served as an official response to a series of rocket attacks on Iraqi military bases that host U.S. troops. There was another rocket attack just hours before the resolution’s introduction.
“If we assess a further response is warranted, we will take action again in a manner and time of our choosing and we reserve that option,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday. “What we won’t do is make a hasty or ill-informed decision that further escalates the [situation] or plays into the hands of our adversaries.”
Duckworth, a veteran, said in a statement that “as a nation, we are long overdue to have a thorough and honest reckoning about responsibly exercising congressional war powers, which includes repealing outdated authorities like the 1991 and 2002 AUMFs. For decades, administrations of both parties have kept these authorizations on the books to justify military action in the region without returning to Congress to make their best legal case for the need for such action.”
Politico reported Tuesday that some lawmakers — including Kaine — are frustrated that Biden did not notify them about Syria, ordered the strikes without seeking congressional approval, and still hasn’t had a briefing for senators.
Senate Foreign Relations still hasn’t been briefed. Menendez pushing for it, but no dice.
Murphy: “It is kind of odd that you’d have a staff briefing but not a members’ briefing in the wake of something that significant and serious.”https://t.co/Yteul9TKsg
— Andrew Desiderio (@AndrewDesiderio) March 2, 2021
“I still need to be convinced that any president has the authorization required to take a retaliatory strike, especially outside of Iraq,” said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), who sat in on the briefing for Senate aides. “I didn’t hear anything today that convinced me that there was justification that I’d apply to any administration.”
Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees, told Politico that he learned about the strikes “on the news” and “I don’t think I should be learning about it that way.” He added that because Biden served as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, “he should understand more than most — more than just virtually anybody — that the Article I branch has got to have a role here.”
Though Kaine and other co-sponsors referenced the Syria strikes in their comments about the proposal, Lawfare noted that Biden did not rely on any AUMF in his legally required report to Congress on the action — he only cited his constitutional authority as chief executive and commander-in-chief.
“This is not surprising,” Lawfare added. “Although the Bush, Obama, and Trump administrations cited the 2001 and 2002 AUMFs as continuing authority to use force in Iraq and Syria (including against the Islamic State), members of Congress of both parties have grown increasingly uncomfortable as successive presidents have stretched the 2001 and 2002 authorizations beyond their original purposes — the latter authorization especially so.”
‘Bipartisan senators introduce bill to strip Biden of war powers https://t.co/mNjPR9Qisg via @politico.’ Am I missing something or this is leaving out the 2001 AUMF?
— Luca Trenta (@lucatrenta) March 3, 2021
While the Kaine-Young resolution doesn’t address the 2001 AUMF, Congress faced mounting pressure to end that authorization even before Biden authorized airstrikes last week.
As Common Dreams reported in mid-February, an ideologically diverse coalition of 25 groups sent a letter calling on lawmakers to “reorient U.S. foreign policy away from the unaccountable, interventionist approach we’ve seen for nearly two decades” by sunsetting the 2001 AUMF and repealing the 2002 AUMF. Some of those same organizations backed a letter to Biden demanding an end to “endless wars.”
The first letter specifically called on lawmakers to support legislation on those two authorizations from Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) — the only member of Congress who opposed the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan that led to the longest-ever U.S. war.
“The strike in Syria exemplifies why Congress must take action to repeal the 2001 and 2002 AUMF,” Lee tweeted after the attack. “No single person should have the power to authorize military force. The era of forever wars must end.”
We’re not backing down in the face of Trump’s threats.
As Donald Trump is inaugurated a second time, independent media organizations are faced with urgent mandates: Tell the truth more loudly than ever before. Do that work even as our standard modes of distribution (such as social media platforms) are being manipulated and curtailed by forces of fascist repression and ruthless capitalism. Do that work even as journalism and journalists face targeted attacks, including from the government itself. And do that work in community, never forgetting that we’re not shouting into a faceless void – we’re reaching out to real people amid a life-threatening political climate.
Our task is formidable, and it requires us to ground ourselves in our principles, remind ourselves of our utility, dig in and commit.
As a dizzying number of corporate news organizations – either through need or greed – rush to implement new ways to further monetize their content, and others acquiesce to Trump’s wishes, now is a time for movement media-makers to double down on community-first models.
At Truthout, we are reaffirming our commitments on this front: We won’t run ads or have a paywall because we believe that everyone should have access to information, and that access should exist without barriers and free of distractions from craven corporate interests. We recognize the implications for democracy when information-seekers click a link only to find the article trapped behind a paywall or buried on a page with dozens of invasive ads. The laws of capitalism dictate an unending increase in monetization, and much of the media simply follows those laws. Truthout and many of our peers are dedicating ourselves to following other paths – a commitment which feels vital in a moment when corporations are evermore overtly embedded in government.
Over 80 percent of Truthout‘s funding comes from small individual donations from our community of readers, and the remaining 20 percent comes from a handful of social justice-oriented foundations. Over a third of our total budget is supported by recurring monthly donors, many of whom give because they want to help us keep Truthout barrier-free for everyone.
You can help by giving today. Whether you can make a small monthly donation or a larger gift, Truthout only works with your support.