WASHINGTON U. S. Assistant Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said Tuesday that the Biden administration supports repealing congressional war authorization in 2002 to invade Iraq, action in the Senate on Wednesday.
Sherman spoke at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, where the Pentagon’s and State Department’s most sensitive lawyers said the repeal would not mean ongoing military operations or the ability to protect U. S. troops in Iraq.
“I need to make it clear that the Biden-Harris leadership believes that the 2002 authorization for the use of force by the military opposed to Iraq has exceeded its usefulness and will be repealed,” Sherman said.
“For the State Department, the repeal of the 2002 AUMF would not mean our diplomatic initiatives, and management has made it clear that we do not have any ongoing military activity based solely on the 2002 AUMF,” he added.
The leadership also supports the imaginable repeal of the 2001 AUMF, which authorizes war in Afghanistan and underpins other U. S. counterterrorism operations. This and the 2002 AUMF deserve to be replaced by “clear, narrow, express frames,” Sherman said.
Some Republicans said they feared the 2002 AUMF repeal would embolden Iran and undermine counterterrorism operations. They requested a hearing before Wednesday’s attention panel on a sense bill. Tim Kaine, D-Va. , and Todd Young, R-U. S. Ind. , To repeal the 2002 and 1991 war authorizations.
After much effort to repeal post-September 11 authorizations for the use of army force, the action marks some of the most significant developments in years. President Joe Biden’s repeal is likely maximum to galvanize Democrats, who are expected to face opposition from the top, but not all, Republicans.
The House voted to end the 2002 AUMF, 268-161, on June 17, with 49 Republicans voting to repeal it.
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The most sensible Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Idaho Sen. Jim Risch, argued that the 2002 repeal can be interpreted simply as a “sign of weakness” toward Iran. He highlighted the 2002 clearance as the base for President Trump’s fatal airstrike opposed to Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in 2020, which he said sent a strong enough message to Tehran.
“As far as the load on troops across the Middle East is concerned, I’m concerned that the 2002 AUMF repeal will only carry the message that the administration, and I think all of us, are already sending to Iran, our allies, and the region,” he added. Risch said.
Officials said Tuesday that the Trump administration used the 2002 AUMF only as a strengthening authority in soleimani’s attack and used Article II of the Constitution, which protects U. S. troops, as its number one authority. In February and June, they noted, Biden invoked this authority, which the AUMF of 2002, when he carried out movements in Syria and Iraq at sites used by Iranian-backed militias.
“President Biden did not want the 2002 AUMF for U. S. interests in June, and our current assessment is that we do not want AUMF 2002 for the foreseeable future,” Sherman said. “If we want more authorities, we will not hesitate to seek those authorities. »
Pentagon legal counsel Caroline Krass said the repeal would not be the army’s crusade against the Islamic State and other terrorist groups, nor would it obstruct the U. S. military’s ability to respond to other vital threats from Iran-backed militias, she said.
In addition, the 2002 authorization is necessary for detentions at Guantanamo Bay or of Islamic State members abroad, Richard Visek, one of the State Department’s top lawyers, told the commission. .
However, some Republicans, adding Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, are wary of repeal without replacement, after a history of fruitless efforts, especially in 2015, despite President Barack Obama, and in 2018, despite sfrc president at the time Bob Corker, R-Tenn.
“I am concerned that the prospect of this framework one day passing an AUMF to address the ongoing risk posed through the Islamic State, the Taliban, al-Qaeda and other teams will never pass before this framework,” Romney said. we’re going to propose a new AUMF just isn’t realistic. “