License for murder-U. S. Senators will decide
2023.02.09 12:54
License for murder-U. S. Senators will decide
By Kristina Sobol
Budrigannews.com – On Thursday, Democratic and Republican lawmakers in the United States renewed an ongoing effort to reassert Congress’s role in deciding whether to send troops into combat by introducing legislation to repeal two long-standing authorizations for previous wars in Iraq.
The effort to repeal the Authorizations for the Use of Military Force, or AUMFs, from 1991 and 2002 was led by Democratic Senator Tim Kaine, Republican Senator Todd Young, Republican Representatives Tom Cole and Chip Roy, and Democratic Representatives Barbara Lee and Abigail Spanberger.
“The 1991 and 2002 AUMFs are no longer required, have no operational value, and may be misused. “Congress owes it to our servicemembers, veterans, and their families to pass our bill repealing these outdated AUMFs and formally ending the Gulf and Iraq wars,” stated Kaine, who has advocated for years for the repeal of outdated AUMFs.
By passing and then failing to repeal open-ended war authorizations, Republican and Democratic members of Congress have been arguing for years that Congress has ceded too much authority to the White House over whether troops should be sent into combat.
But Congress members aren’t all in agreement about whether it’s better for national security to keep the AUMFs in place and let military leaders decide how to fight America’s enemies.
“Since the last time Congress voted to authorize an American invasion of Iraq more than two decades ago, three presidents have left office; A fourth is currently in charge. “However, the legacy of these terrible forever wars lives on in the form of the now-outdated AUMFs of 2002 and 1991,” Lee stated in a statement.
Congress, not the president, has the authority to declare war under the Constitution.
