A bipartisan group of lawmakers is renewing efforts to repeal legislation that authorized the costly US military invasion of Iraq ahead of the 20th anniversary of the attack on Baghdad next month.
The push to repeal the 2002 Iraq War military authorization and the 1991 Gulf War authorization has steadily gained bipartisan momentum in recent years. Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.), the main co-sponsor of the effort, hoped to get it done in the last Congress, but the Senate ran out of time in the middle of the packed legislature. calendar.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (DNY) on Thursday reiterated his support for the repeal and promised to bring the legislation to the floor “so the Senate can pass it quickly.”
The 2002 authorization for the use of military force, or AUMF, gave President George W. Bush approval to invade Iraq, a disastrous conflict that cost countless lives and trillions of dollars based on false pretenses. Schumer supported the measure along with 28 other Senate Democrats.
Kaine on Thursday said the two powers are “no longer necessary, serve no operational purpose, and are at risk of potential abuse.” The president has used the 2002 authorization expansively to wage war around the world. For example, the administration of President Donald Trump called in 2020 to justify the assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in Iraq.
“Congress owes it to our service members, veterans, and families to pass a bill that repeals the outdated AUMF and formally ends the Gulf and Iraq wars,” Kaine said in a statement.
Young, a former U.S. Marine, noted that Iraq is technically still an enemy of the U.S. by law on the books.
“These inconsistencies and inaccuracies must be corrected. Congress must do its job and take the decision seriously to not only go to war with America, but to firmly say that we are not at war anymore,” he said.
Legislation repealing these two military authorizations was co-sponsored in the House by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), the only member of Congress to oppose the 2001 authorization of military forces in Afghanistan after the September 11 terror attacks.
In the last Congress, the Democratic-controlled House passed the repeal of the 2002 AUMF as part of the annual defense bill. It’s unclear whether the new Republican majority in the House will agree to bring legislation repealing the two powers to the floor for a vote even if the Senate approves it this year.