US Senate Committee Votes to End Authorization for War on Iraq
WASHINGTON - The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee has voted to introduce a bill aimed at rescinding two authorizations for past US invasions of Iraq, setting the stage for a possible Senate-wide vote ahead of the 20th anniversary of the to prepare for the last invasion.
By a vote of 13 to 8 on Wednesday, the committee approved the bill repealing the 1991 and 2002 Authorizations for the Use of Military Forces (AUMFs) against Iraq.
The full Senate is expected to vote on the bill over the next few weeks, which will coincide with the 20th anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq on March 19, 2003.
"This is about ending endless wars and reaffirming the constitutional role of Congress on issues of war, peace and diplomacy," tweeted Democrat Tim Kaine, one of the bill's backers.
The bill appears to have the backing of Senate leadership, as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer last week stressed the "need to put the Iraq war behind us once and for all."
The Biden administration claimed in December 2021 that the US combat mission in Iraq was over. However, he said 2,500 troops will remain on Iraqi soil with an "advising and support mission."
The 2002 resolution entitled Authorization for the Use of Military Forces (AUMF) was overwhelmingly passed by the US Congress and gave the US President permission to conduct military actions without the need for congressional approval .
The resolution was used by former US President George W. Bush to invade Iraq in 2003. However, the next presidents also used them, even though the war in Iraq was over.
One of the most recent cases in which this resolution was referred to was in early January 2020, when ex-President Donald Trump covered the assassination of Iran's top anti-terrorist commander, Lt. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, along with the deputy chief of the Iraqi People's Mobilization Units (PMU ) Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis ordered.
In recent years there have been several campaigns to abolish the AUMFs.
Also on Wednesday, Republican Senator Rand Paul proposed an amendment to reverse the 2001 permit, which was defeated 20-1.
"Originally it was meant to go after those who attacked us on 9/11, but Presidents have abused the AUMF for over two decades to justify military operations in at least 22 countries and against groups that did not exist on 9/11," tweeted Paul.
Congressional approval has been fully applied in Muslim-majority countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Somalia and Yemen.
A 2021 report produced by Brown University's Costs of War Project found that the US-led "global war on terror" has resulted in the deaths of nearly a million people and cost more than $8 trillion.
