Tag: AUMF

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Commemorating 9/14

Greg Weiner

President Biden has chosen an apt date, the 20th anniversary of 9/11, to complete the withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan. Congress should do its part by commemorating another anniversary—September 14, 2001, the date on which the AUMF for the inchoate “war on terror” was passed—by withdrawing that authority. The loose and hasty AUMF, which legislators like Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia have challenged—with signals of interest from the White House—has been used to justify military operations far removed from 9/11, al Qaeda, or Afghanistan. It has become a blanket authority for any operation nominally connected with terrorism. Repealing the AUMF—and … Continue reading Commemorating 9/14

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Partisanship and War Powers

Greg Weiner

The decisive test case for the separation of powers is whether members of Congress will defend their branch of government even if a president of their own party occupies the White House. Might such a willingness be brewing? A story in The Washington Post reports that several Democratic members of Congress who pushed to reclaim legislative war powers under former President Trump are persisting under President Biden. The most encouraging explanation of their intentions came from Democratic Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, who promised “civil dialogue” with the White House on matters like repealing the post-9/11 Authorization for Use of … Continue reading Partisanship and War Powers