PRESS RELEASE

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Senate Debates Policy of Endless Wars

Sept. 13, 2017 (EIRNS)—In a 61-36 vote today, the Senate tabled the amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) presented by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), calling for repeal of the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF), as well as the 2002 AUMF against Iraq. As noted on the www.thinkprogress.org website, this was the first time in 15 years that the full Senate has voted on Congress’s role in initiating war.

Speaking this morning, Sen. Paul noted that

"we have fought the longest war in U.S. history under an original authorization to go after the people who attacked us on 9/11. That war is long since over. The war has long since lost its purpose. And it’s a long time [overdue] that ... we have a debate in Congress over whether we should be at war or not. It is the Constitutional role of Congress."

In his remarks supporting the amendment, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) recalled that when he initially voted for the AUMF, he wasn’t voting for "endless war." But, that’s what in fact evolved.

Sen. Paul’s amendment would have meant a six-month ‘sunset’ on both the 2001 and 2002 AUMFs, providing a window during which to debate a newer, more specific AUMF.

In the House, meanwhile, Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.) has written Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) calling on him to immediately schedule a debate on the Afghanistan war. Should Ryan not act, Rep. Jones warned, he will be complicit "in the waste and abuse of taxpayers’ money," by denying a debate to the members "who have taken an oath to uphold the Constitution." At a time when wildfires and hurricanes are devastating part of the U.S., Jones concluded, "we need to use our tax dollars wisely. We must help out our own people first and foremost" [emphasis in original].