Washington DC, United States.- The US Senate overwhelmingly approved Wednesday that Congress retain authority over the use of military force in the global fight against terrorism, rejecting an attempt by Senator Rand Paul to repeal the 2001 measure.
The senators rejected the amendment by a vote of 86-9 as they debate separately repealing two other authorizations for the use of military force in Iraq. There is broad bipartisan support for revoking the approvals that Congress granted in 1991 and 2002 to attack Saddam Hussein’s regime militarily.
Although these two authorizations are rarely used and are directed against a single country, Iraq, the 2001 measure gave President George W. Bush broad authority to invade Afghanistan and fight terrorism, because the use of force “against nations, organizations, or persons” who planned or assisted in the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.
The measure approved in September 2001 continues to be used to this day to justify Washington’s military actions against terrorist groups, including Al Qaeda and affiliated groups such as the Islamic State and Al Shabab, whom the United States considers a threat.
The 2002 measure with which the United States invaded Iraq 20 years ago this week has been used far less frequently, and supporters of its repeal say it is vulnerable to abuse. President Joe Biden said he supports his repeal.
Senators from both parties said they might be open over time to replacing the 2001 authorization for the war on terror and reducing its scope, but said it should not be repealed entirely.
“We haven’t had that substantive discussion yet,” Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez said before the amendment was put to a vote.
Paul said that by simply repealing the Iraq-related authorizations, Congress “forgets the bottom line” because the Hussein regime no longer exists. If the 2001 measure is left in place, Congress retains the authority to pass “war anywhere at any time,” he said.
The Senate is scheduled to vote next week to repeal the two measures on Iraq. In a test vote this week, 19 Republicans voted with Democrats to advance the initiative.
