Intel: House Democrats call on Biden to reform Middle East war powers
California Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee and House committee leaders wasted no time calling on the new president to rein in two-decade-old legislation on the authorization of military force.
On the first full day of Joe Biden’s presidency, Democrats in Congress revived an effort to curtail the White House’s power to deploy troops to the Middle East.
Five House lawmakers sent a letter to Biden on Thursday calling on him to immediately repeal the 2002 Congressional Authorization of the Use of Military Force against Iraq and to work with Congress on repealing and replacing the 2001 authorization.
The laws originally granted US presidents carte blanche to militarily pursue the regime of Saddam Hussein and the plotters of the Sept. 11 attacks, but critics on both the left and right say US administrations have stretched the authorizations beyond recognition.
The 2001 and 2002 authorizations "were both passed nearly 20 years ago and bear little resemblance to the threats we face today,” the letter read. US forces have deployed to at least 20 countries, largely in the Middle East and Africa, under the 2001 authorization.
