Obama seeks war powers to fight the IS
Request goes before a divided Congress
WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama was expected as early as yesterday to ask Congress for new war powers, sending Capitol Hill his blueprint for an updated authorisation for the use of military force to fight the Islamic State group.
Haggling then begins on writing a new authorisation to battle the Sunni extremists, who have seized territory in Iraq and neighbouring Syria and imposed a violent form of Sharia law.
That will lead to the first war vote in Congress in 13 years, one of the most important votes faced by members of the House and Senate.
To get Congress to approve his request, Mr Obama must find a balance between lawmakers who want wide authority to fight the Islamic State (IS) and others, including members of his own party, who worry that a new authorisation to use military force will lead to US entanglement in another protracted war.
In 2002, Congress passed a resolution authorising president George W Bush to use force against Iraq — a vote that scores of Democrats have regretted and thencandidate Barack Obama used as a cudgel against his rivals to win the Democratic presidential nomination.
Mr Obama so far has relied on congressional authorisations that Mr Bush used to justify military action after the Sept 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Critics say the White House’s use of these authorisations to fight the terrorist group is a legal stretch at best.
The president earlier insisted he had the legal authority to deploy more than 2,700 US troops in Iraq to train and assist Iraqi security forces, and conduct ongoing air strikes against targets in Iraq and Syria.
More recently, the president has said he wants a new authorisation, but has not released details.
Lawmakers expect the White House to issue its language before the end of the week. Obama administration officials have had consultations with both Democratic and Republican lawmakers about provisions of the new authorisation it is seeking.
So far, no formal language has been submitted, although the White House has completed a draft, a senior congressional official said.
Another congressional official said the president will ask for a three-year authorisation so the next president will have to seek renewed authority to fight the IS.
The official said Mr Obama wants to leave open the option to send in combat forces if needed, but is not seeking an authorisation that would permit a prolonged US troop presence on the ground.
The White House request also would not restrict the fight to certain geographic locations, but would limit the US to fighting IS militants or any future group that evolves, the official said.
A congressional aide said Democrats will not rubber-stamp the White House version but will seek to rewrite it to include bipartisan views.