US war powers

In his final weeks in office, Barack Obama has broadened the legal scope of the war on extremism, the White House confirmed yesterday, as it acknowledged for the first time that the Administration now asserts it is legally justified to take on the extremist group al-Shabaab in Somalia. It says it can do so under the war powers legislation that Congress approved to target al-Qaeda after the 9/11 attacks. The claim is part of a report shedding new light on the President’s evolving interpretation of the law to justify responses to new threats overseas — and to support the expanded war powers he’s handing off to his successor. Obama plans to call for the report to be updated every year and released publicly.