WASHINGTON (AP) – More than two decades later, Congress is writing the final chapter of the Iraq war.
The Senate on Thursday passed a resolution revoking the resolution that gave the U.S. powers in 2003. intrusionfollowing last month’s House vote. Basic forces against Congress.
The amendments by Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine (D) and Indiana Sen. Todd Young (R) were approved by voice vote to the annual national defense authorization bill that passed the Senate late Thursday. This was unanimous support for ending the war, which many now consider a mistake.
The Iraqi death toll is estimated in the hundreds of thousands, and nearly 5,000 U.S. service members have died in the war since President George W. Bush’s administration. false claims President Saddam Hussein had stockpiled weapons of mass destruction.
“That’s how wars end. Not with a bang, but with a cry,” Kaine said after the vote, which lasted just seconds with no debate or objections. Still, he said, “America was forever changed by those wars, and so was the Middle East.”
Supporters in the House and Senate say repeal is critical to preventing future human rights abuses and reinforcing that Iraq is now a strategic partner of the United States. The House added a similar amendment to its version of the defense measure in September, so the repeal will likely end up in the final bill if both chambers reconcile the two bills. Both bills would also repeal the 1991 authorization that sanctioned the U.S.-led Gulf War.
Congress appears poised to pass a repeal, but it is unclear whether President Donald Trump will support it. During his first term, his administration cited the 2002 Iraq resolution as part of its legal justification for the 2020 U.S. drone strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassim Soleimani. It is rarely used elsewhere.
After the vote, Young said Trump should be “extremely proud” of signing the bill, calling for an end to so-called “forever wars,” especially since he would be the first president in recent history to legally end a long-running war.
He said the vote establishes an important precedent.
“Congress is now saying very clearly that it is our privilege and responsibility to not only authorize but end military conflict,” Young said.
The bipartisan vote comes on top of a larger bipartisan defense effort amid bitter partisan conflict over the week-long government shutdown. Young said the quick vote was a “special moment” and “hopefully helps some people understand that important things can still be done in the United States Congress.”
The Senate also voted 66-30 two years ago to repeal the 2002 resolution. Some Republicans privately told Kaine that they still opposed the bill, but none spoke against the chamber’s unanimous vote Thursday evening.
Separate authorization for the global war on terrorism in 2001; stay in place Below the bill. While the 2002 and 1991 resolutions were rarely used and focused on just one country, Iraq, the 2001 bill gave President George W. Bush broad authority to invade Afghanistan and authorized the use of force “against those countries, entities, or individuals” that planned or supported the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.
The law, passed in September 2001, has been used in recent years to justify U.S. military action against groups deemed to be a threat to the United States, including al-Qaeda and its affiliates, the Islamic State group and al-Shabaab.
