Lindsey Graham wants war on the Islamic State — with no limits [View all]

[jpak]

Source: Washington Post

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) is readying an authorization of military force against the Islamic State that would allow the United States to attack the militant group's allies anywhere, and with no timetables.

"ISIL is a more credible threat to our homeland than al-Qaeda," Graham said in an interview, referring to the Islamic State by one of its other names. "We need to have an authorization of force that is not limited by geography, time, or means."

The resolution, which Graham plans to officially introduce after the Thanksgiving recess, is being shaped and shopped around to senators on Wednesday. "No geographic limits are placed on American military or intelligence services in the fight against ISIL," reads the outline of the in-process legislation. "No expiration date. No prohibition on sending American forces on the ground to combat ISIL. No prohibitions on the ability of the United States to disrupt online terrorist recruitment activities, online terrorist propaganda, or terrorist communications."

All of that makes Graham's AUMF further-reaching than any comparable ones — none of which have gotten traction in Congress. The Obama administration has favored an authorization of force with a three-year limit, a non-starter among Republican hawks. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has drafted a war authorization that would also place limits on ground troops, and end the 2001 and 2002 authorizations of force against (respectively) al-Qaeda and Saddam Hussain's Iraq. Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), two freshmen who have campaigned for a new AUMF, wrote in Time magazine Wednesday that their own details need to be worked out. "Questions about whether to 'sunset' an ISIS-specific AUMF and what to do about the 14-year-old statute which currently serves as the administration’s legal underpinning for action against ISIS, remain," they acknowledged.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/11/18/lindsey-graham-wants-war-on-the-islamic-state-with-no-limits/

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