President Barack Obama has officially asked Congress for war authority to fight Islamic State militants, opening a debate on Capitol Hill over the extent of U.S. military involvement in fighting the group Obama says poses a “grave threat” to U.S. national security.
Obama’s request doesn’t rule out ground troops, calling for their use against the Islamic State in “limited circumstances” including the use of special ops forces to take military action against the group’s leadership. His authorization includes no geographic limits and would expire in three years, unless reauthorized.
Lawmakers, who have been calling for Obama to seek congressional authorization since soon after the U.S. military began dropping airstrikes against the group last summer, welcomed the request, but some warned that it does not go far enough.
“Rather than expanding his legal authority to go after ISIL, the President seems determined to ask Congress to further restrict the authority of the U.S. military to confront this threat,” said House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.
Obama says in a letter to Congress that his draft would authorize the continued use of military forces to “degrade and defeat” the terror group, but that it does not authorize “enduring” or “long-term, large-scale ground combat operations like those our nation conducted in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
He said the authorization, instead, would provide flexibility to conduct ground combat operations in more limited circumstances, such as rescue operations involving U.S. or coalition personnel or the use of special operations forces to take military action against ISIL leadership.
He said it would also authorize the use of U.S. forces in situations where ground combat operations are not expected, such as intelligence collection and sharing.
But Democrats may be leery of sending additional ground troops. Rep. Adam Schiff, D- Calif., the top Democrat on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligenc, said any new authorization “should place more specific limits on the use of ground troops to ensure we do not authorize another major ground war without the President coming to Congress to make the case for one.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, said the Senate would review Obama’s request “thoughtfully” and senators and committees would “listen closely to the advice of military commanders as they consider the best strategy for defeating ISIL.”
He said Republican senators would meet today for a discussion led by Sens. Bob Corker and John McCain. Corker, R-Tenn., who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee promised “rigorous hearings” and called for “greater clarity” on the administration’s strategy.
“Voting to authorize the use of military force is one of the most important actions Congress can take, and while there will be differences, it is my hope that we will fulfill our constitutional responsibility, and in a bipartisan way, pass an authorization that allows us to confront this serious threat,” Corker said.
The House Foreign Affairs committee plans to begin hearings on the request Thursday.
Obama’s proposal would repeal a 2002 Iraq War authorization for force, but would leave in place a 2001 authorization. Obama in his letter pledged to work with Congress “to refine, and ultimately repeal, the 2001 AUMF.”
Human Rights First called for a repeal of the 2001 authorization, charging the broad authorization “has flouted the rule of law and left the door open for human rights abuses.”
In his letter, Obama cites the deaths at the terrorists’ hands of U.S. citizens James Foley, Steven Sotloff, Abdul-Rahman Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller and warns “if left unchecked, ISIL will pose a threat beyond the Middle East, including to the United States homeland.”
The U.S. began airstrikes against Islamic State targets on Aug. 8, 2014 in Iraq and expanded into Syria a month later.
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Delaware, said he plans to file an amendment to require that any new spending required by the authorization be offset through reduced spending, increased revenue, or both.
“We cannot write another blank check for war,” Coons said. “It is the duty of the Congress, as we debate the scope and strategy for this conflict, to also look squarely at its cost and how to pay for it.”