POLITICO Pro Obama urges Congress to approve new use of military force

President Barack Obama on Tuesday renewed his call for Congress to approve a new authorization for the use of military force in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant — but gave no new sense about when he hoped Congress would act or whether he would send up his own detailed proposal.

The president used part of his annual State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress to claim the U.S.-led military campaign “is stopping” ISIL and to urge Congress to strengthen that effort with a new AUMF that explicitly endorses it.


“This effort will take time,” Obama said. “It will require focus. But we will succeed. And tonight, I call on this Congress to show the world that we are united in this mission by passing a resolution to authorize the use of force against ISIL.”

American warplanes have conducted more than 1,800 airstrikes in Iraq and Syria since early August in an operation that has so far cost about $1.2 billion. Obama first called on Congress to pass a new AUMF after Election Day in November, calling it one of his top goals for the lame duck session.

But the White House never sent Congress a proposal, and progress on a new authorization bogged down amid differences between Democrats and Republicans over what it should say. Republicans argued any authorization must keep open the possibility for American combat troops to fight in the conflicts; Democrats argued any bill must expressly prohibit that possibility.

A National Security Council spokeswoman did not respond to a request on Tuesday night for more information about the White House’s plans on moving forward with a new proposal for military force.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved a resolution in early December, but the vote was along party lines and the bill was never debated in the full chamber. The panel’s top Republican, Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, opposed it, saying he “didn’t like this process. I don’t like where we are.”

Corker, who has since become chairman of the full committee in the new Republican-controlled Senate, has joined other Republicans calling for Obama to lay out a full strategy for ISIL and other counterterrorism priorities.

“I have no earthly idea how the administration plans to go about degrading and destroying ISIS in Syria,” Corker said at the time, using another acronym for ISIL.

Sen. Joni Ernst, delivering the GOP’s response to Obama’s speech Tuesday night, again picked up that theme by calling for the president to show new leadership in the face of terror threats from around the world.

“We’ve been reminded of terrorism’s reach both at home and abroad; most recently in France and Nigeria, but also in places like Canada and Australia,” the Iowa senator said. “Our hearts go out to all the innocent victims of terrorism and their loved ones. We can only imagine the depth of their grief. … The forces of violence and oppression don’t care about the innocent. We need a comprehensive plan to defeat them.”

Obama emphasized that his response to the ISIL threat in Syria and Iraq was not to become “dragged into another ground war in the Middle East.” Still, he has ordered more than 4,100 troops to deploy in support of U.S. allies in the conflicts in the two counties. About 3,100 troops are set to begin retraining 12 Iraqi Army brigades after they broke and ran during their first encounter with ISIL last summer, and about 1,000 more are going to train about 5,400 “moderate” Syrians to battle ISIL in that country.

Eventually, Washington wants those Syrian troops to take on the government of President Bashar Assad.

Republicans argue Obama’s strategies for ISIL are flawed, citing debates within his own administration over how to approach these problems. Outgoing Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel in particular has asked pointed questions of National Security Adviser Susan Rice about Washington’s outlook on Syria, contributing to tension that led to his ouster last month.

The Republican-controlled Senate Armed Services Committee plans to use the confirmation hearing for Obama’s nominee to replace Hagel, former Deputy Defense Secretary Ash Carter, as a venue to excoriate what GOP members call a feckless national security policy.

Two outspoken Senate Republican hawks — John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina — gave a preview of that hearing in their response to Obama’s address, slamming what they called its directionlessness.

“President Obama’s speech tonight was an unfortunate demonstration of how strategically listless his administration now is,” McCain and Graham said.

“The president’s pronouncement of a ‘smarter kind of American leadership’ must be puzzling to any American who has watched the news in the past six years,” they continued. “The Middle East is in tumult, and a wave of terrorist threats is gathering new momentum. Russia has dismembered a sovereign European state. China’s assertiveness continues to rattle American allies in Asia. Taliban attacks are increasing as the president continues his calendar-based withdrawal from Afghanistan.”

Other Republicans — and some Democrats — were disappointed that Obama did not offer details of what he wants in a war authorization proposal.

“It shouldn’t be for the Congress to start with the drafting: It should be a proposal submitted by the commander in chief,” said Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “So, I’m glad [it was in the speech] — I believe we should be looking at authorizing force — however, I want to know what is his plan for success and what is he going to ask of in terms of the authorization.”

Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), a senior House Armed Services Committee member, also urged the president to detail a proposal.

“Here, once again, he’s calling the Congress to take action without one sentence, one proposal from him as to what he wants,” Turner said.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), who has pressed the White House and Congress for months to take up an AUMF, also said he was disappointed in Obama’s lack of details.

“Five months of war has been far too long to make our service members and their families wait for a political consensus on the scope of the U.S. mission,” Kaine said in a statement. “Congress as a whole will be better prepared to act with specific guidance from the administration on the language of an AUMF. I hope that guidance is forthcoming soon.”

Still, some Democrats said the administration would be detailing a proposal in due time, arguing Obama didn’t need to dive that deeply into the policy in his State of the Union address.

“There’s going to be a lot of time over the next couple weeks and months to fill in the details,” said Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.). “On AUMF, that in of itself should be the subject of a lot of debate, especially in the Senate and the House. We ought to schedule a lots of time. Let’s debate the broader constitutional issues.”

Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Obama’s latest urging could help “get the deliberations going.”

“What we’re seeing is a need to update the legislation to the current threats,” Reed said.

In his address, Obama defended the transfer of authority for the war in Afghanistan from U.S. troops to homegrown forces.

“Instead of Americans patrolling the valleys of Afghanistan, we’ve trained their security forces, who’ve now taken the lead, and we’ve honored our troops’ sacrifice by supporting that country’s first democratic transition,” Obama said. “Instead of sending large ground forces overseas, we’re partnering with nations from South Asia to North Africa to deny safe haven to terrorists who threaten America.”

He saluted the hundreds of thousands of troops who he said finally could stay home after years of deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.

“Tonight, for the first time since 9/11, our combat mission in Afghanistan is over,” Obama said near the start of his address. “Six years ago, nearly 180,000 American troops served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Today, fewer than 15,000 remain. And we salute the courage and sacrifice of every man and woman in this 9/11 generation who has served to keep us safe. We are humbled and grateful for your service.”