US committee votes to repeal “endless war” authorization used in fight against IS

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – A US committee on Thursday voted to repeal the war authorization the US military relies on to fight the war on terrorism in Iraq, Syria and around the globe. 

The House Appropriations Committee approved an amendment that would revoke a 2001 law giving the president authority to undertake the war against al Qaeda and its affiliates, namely the Islamic State (IS).

The amendment was added during a vote on the defense spending bill, which also threatened funding to Peshmerga forces should the Kurdistan Region choose to secede with Iraq.

The Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF), which was initially approved to authorize the response to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, has since been used to justify the Iraq War and the fight against IS.

The amendment would allow Congress to debate and pass a new war authorization, curtailing what critics think gives the president broad powers to “wage endless wars” around the world.

However, the amendment guarantees an eight-month period, “giving the administration and Congress sufficient time to decide what measures should replace it [AUFM].”

Should the amendment pass, US lawmakers could be forced to debate the nation’s role in the fight against the jihadist group, despite the US leading the anti-IS coalition.

Calls to pass a new war authorization intensified in 2014 when the US began fighting against IS in Iraq.

It is unclear whether it will make it past the Senate and be included in a final version of a defense spending bill, and how it could potentially affect the ongoing battle against the waning Islamic State and its support to local security forces.