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Timely update on AUMF, just in this morning!
By mickielynn on 2016-02-11 14:19:28
Just this morning after writing the second half of Wednesday's article on never ending war that concerned the need for
Congress to debate President Obama's request for an authorization to fight a war against ISIS {a war that was never
authorized and that has involved bombing, special forces and other involvement that we haven't been completely informed
about} I heard Representative Barbara Lee interviewed on Democracy Now! There were two segments. The first one was
about the history and context of the Authorization of Military Force. In it you can hear just what President Obama requested
of Congress. It includes these words:
Today my administration submitted a draft resolution to Congress to authorize the use of force against ISIL. I
want to be very clear about what it does and what it does not do. This resolution reflects our core objective to
destroy ISIL. It supports the comprehensive strategy that we’ve been pursuing with our allies and our partners
—a systemic and sustained campaign of airstrikes against ISIL in Iraq and Syria; support and training for local
forces on the ground, including the moderate Syrian opposition; preventing ISIL attacks in the region and
beyond, including by foreign terrorist fighters who try to threaten our countries; regional and international
support for an inclusive Iraqi government that unites the Iraqi people and strengthens Iraqi forces against ISIL;
humanitarian assistance for the innocent civilians of Iraq and Syria, who are suffering so terribly under ISIL’s
reign of horror.[...]
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ne ==" Screen shot of Barbara Lee
speaking about the need for a debate about President Obama's request exactly 1 1 year ago for an AUMF to fight against ISIS..
Democracy Now! Thursday, February 11, 2016[/caption] As I said in yesterday's article, this resolution has never been
discussed or voted on. You can read, hear or watch the whole segment in the video below. One observation made by Amy
Goodman about the not yet considered or approved resolution is this:
The resolution imposed a three-year limit on U.S. operations but did not put any geographic constraints. It also
opened the door for ground combat operations in limited circumstances. However, Congress has yet to hold the
constitutionally mandated debate and vote on the war against ISIL. Instead, the strikes have been carried out
using an outdated authorization passed by Congress in 2001 in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. In his State of the
Union address [January of 2016] President Obama renewed his call for a congressional debate on the
Authorization for Use of Military Force, or AUMF.
Embedded video at https://www.youtube.com/embed/T7xpdmMMNHw?rel=0
But NOT TO BURY THE LEAD of this story; the reason that I'm writing this follow up article is because 20 bipartisan
members of Congress sent a letter yesterday to Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan, asking him to bring last year's resolution to
the floor of the House of Representatives for a discussion and a vote. You can read a detailed story about the letter and more
about what President Obama had to say about repealing the 2001 AUMF if his new resolution was passed, in an excellent
article from the CBS San Francisco affiliate. [caption id="attachment_8075" align="aligncenter" width="600"]
a An Apache helicopter
provides protection from the air while paratroopers from A Co, Ist Battalion, 325th AIR, move into position shortly after air
assaulting into Lwar Kowndalan, Afghanistan to start a five-day mission.[/caption] Wait, there's more: In her interview
Representative Lee mentioned a petition that she has authored to allow people to urge consideration of the AUMF request.
She feels that it's the power of the people that will bring about this discussion and vote on the President's resolution request.
When I checked this petition just a few minutes ago there were 201, 746 people who had signed the petition, which was
80.7% toward the goal of 250000. Not simply wanting to limit war powers unchecked by the consent of Congress,
Representative Lee has also sponsored a House Resolution: H.J.Res.30
.. which really talks about a comprehensive strategy to address ISIS. No one believes that ISIS is not a
dangerous terrorist organization and that they must be dismantled, but the military-first option is not always the
best option to really create the reduction of tension and to mitigate against more terrorist attacks and more terror
in the region. We do not need boots on the ground. We do not need to have ground troops in the region to
conduct—you know, to be part of a civil war that’s taking place. And so, we have to look at a comprehensive
strategy, a political solution, an economic and diplomatic solution, that would, you know, begin to reduce
tensions and bring some semblance of global peace and security. Right now, military first, for me and for many
of us, that is not the way we dismantle and disable ISIS so that we can have peace in the region and throughout
the world.
