MILITARY/POLITICS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Senate voted Wednesday [9-13-17] to retain two resolutions authorizing the use of military force that date back to the early 2000s, even while lawmakers from both parties complained that Congress has avoided reopening debate on U.S. military commitments overseas.
In a 61-36 vote, the Senate set aside an amendment from Sen. Rand Paul (R., Ky.) that would have phased out both the 2001 authorization for the use of military force against al Qaeda and those connected to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, as well as the 2002 resolution that gave former President George W. Bush authority to invade Iraq.
Mr. Paul’s amendment, to a defense policy bill, would have repealed the two authorizations six months after the larger bill’s passage.
Lawmakers for years have said Congress is shirking its responsibility by not debating whether to repeal or reshape the authorizations, given the rise of new threats from Islamic State, which didn’t exist in its current form when the authorizations were passed, and the extension of U.S. military operations to Ethiopia, Georgia, Kenya, Somalia, Yemen and beyond.
But absent consensus on a new authorization, lawmakers have largely avoided taking votes out of concern that a show of division would telegraph weakness to foreign allies and adversaries. Many also worry that abruptly canceling the authorizations would force the U.S. military to withdraw quickly—and few lawmakers are eager to go on the record on such a politically sensitive topic.”
-Kristina Peterson and Ben Kesling, “Senate Keeps War-Authorization Resolutions Dating Back to Early 2000s,” The Wall Street Journal online, Sept. 13, 2017 05:06pm