War authorization back on Hill
Tillerson, Mattis argue for keeping things as they are
WASHINGTON — Senior U.S. national security officials told Congress on Monday that the 2001 war authorization for combat operations against terrorist groups is legally sufficient and warned that prematurely repealing the law could signal that America is “backing away from this fight.”
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee three months after they informed the panel that the post-sept. 11, 2001, law gave the military ample authority to fight terrorist groups and that a new one was unnecessary.
A separate authorization for the war in Iraq approved by Congress in 2002 also remains in force.
Tillerson and Mattis said that if Congress does pursue a new authorization for foes such as Islamic State militants, it’s imperative the existing law not be rescinded until a new one is fully in place.
They also said that any new war authorization, like the existing one, should not have any geographic or time restrictions so as not to tip off the enemy.
“Though a statement of continued congressional support would be welcome, a new (war authorization) is not legally required to address the continuing threat posed by al-qaida, the Taliban and ISIS,” Mattis said. But doing away with existing laws prematurely “could only signal to our enemies and our friends that we are backing away from this fight.”
Their appearance before the committee comes as the deadly ambush in Niger is igniting a push among many lawmakers to update the legal parameters for combat operations overseas.
A growing number of congressional Republicans and Democrats, many of whom were startled by the depth of the U.S. commitment in Niger and other parts of Africa, have been demanding a new authorization for the use of military force.
Roughly 800 U.S. service members are in Niger as part of a French-led mission to defeat the extremists in West Africa. There are hundreds more American forces in other African countries.
U.S. troops also are battling an enemy, Islamic State militants, that didn’t exist 16 years ago in a country, Syria, that the U.S. didn’t expect to be fighting in. Nor did the 2001 authorization anticipate military confrontations with the Syrian government.