US Congress to repeal war permits so no president can ‘abuse’ them

A coalition of 37 human rights organizations and anti-war groups has urged the US Congress to reverse the 2002 Authorization for the Use of Military Forces (AUMF) against Iraq, saying such action could ensure that no other “uncontrolled” president did so law could be “abused” to wage more wars.

The coalition has sent a letter to several Senate and Congress members urging lawmakers to take action against what they call a “long-overdue repeal.” “The repeal of this outdated and unnecessary law would constitute a fundamental act of constitutional hygiene while ensuring that Iraq’s 2002 AUMF cannot be abused to breathe new life into an unanticipated national security crisis being fueled by an unrestrained president,” it said it in part of the letter.

The 2002 resolution entitled Authorization for the Use of Military Forces (AUMF) was overwhelmingly passed by the US Congress and, under specific conditions set forth in the legislative measure, gave the US President permission to conduct military action without requiring congressional approval. The resolution was used by former US President George W. Bush to invade Iraq in 2003. However, the next presidents also used them, even though the war in Iraq was over.

One of the most recent cases in which this resolution was referred to was in early January 2020, when ex-President Donald Trump covered the assassination of Iran’s top anti-terrorist commander, Lt. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, along with the deputy head of the Iraqi People’s Mobilization Units (PMU ), Abu, Mahdi al-Muhandis ordered.

“This scenario has already played out once, in early 2020; there is nothing to prevent a repeat until Congress pulls the 2002 Iraqi AUMF off the books,” the letter adds. By repealing the 2002 AUMF, Congress would “at last be reclaiming its constitutional war powers in a way that is both significant and increasingly uncontroversial. We urge you to take this opportunity to take it off the books for good,” the letter added.

Congressional approval has been fully applied in Muslim-majority countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. A 2021 report produced by Brown University’s Costs of War Project found that the US-led “global war on terror” has resulted in the deaths of nearly a million people and cost more than $8 trillion.