Defense bill sparks ISIS war fight
An annual defense policy bill is sparking a fight over authorizing the war against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) filed legislation on Tuesday that would give the administration authority for three years to fight ISIS. Their measure is being offered as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
{mosads}“Nearly two years into an executive war against ISIL, the unwillingness of this Congress to authorize the war not only shows a lack of resolve, it sets a dangerous precedent,” Kaine said in a statement. “It’s not hard to imagine a future president using this inaction to justify the hasty and unpredictable initiation of military action against new enemies on new fronts without the permission of Congress.
The bipartisan proposal would limit the president’s ability to use “significant U.S. ground troops” to fight ISIS unless they are protecting the lives of U.S. citizens from an “imminent threat,” according to a breakdown of the amendment from Kaine’ office.
The proposal would also repeal the 2002 authorization used for the Iraq War and limit the White House to only using the Kaine-Flake proposal to legally justify military activity against ISIS.
Kaine also filed a separate amendment to require the president to offer legislation refining a 2001 AUMF by Sept. 20, 2017 and allow Congress to fast-track debate on the legislation.
It would also require Obama’s successor to give Congress a “comprehensive strategy” to combat al-Qaeda, the Taliban, ISIS and other terrorist groups and require more transparency over what countries the U.S. is conducting military operations in, according to Kaine’s office.
The amendment comes as Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) introduced a separate amendment to support curtailing a president’s ability to fight ISIS without specific authorization from Congress.
Their proposal would also find that neither the 2001 force authorization nor a 2002 authorization — both of which have been cited by the Obama administration — apply to the current fight against ISIS.
Their dueling proposals comes as the debate over an ISIS-specific AUMF has largely stalled in Congress.
Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), as well as Senate leadership in both parties, have brushed off calls for a new authorization, saying they believe the administration currently has the authority it needs.
Flake and Kaine introduced their AUMF as a stand-alone bill last year but it has stalled in the Foreign Relations Committee, which Corker oversees.
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