On Sept. 10, FCNL joined 61 other groups from across the political spectrum to urge Congress to reassert its authority over war by repealing the 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF). The 2002 Iraq AUMF is what allowed the U.S. to levy war against the Saddam Hussein regime. Now, 17 years after its enactment, it is long past time to put this law to rest.
The original purpose of the 2002 Iraq AUMF was to defend the U.S. against the Saddam Hussein regime’s alleged possession of weapons of mass destruction. This has long been irrelevant. Iraq never had such weapons and Hussein was overthrown in 2003. Further, unlike the 2001 AUMF, repealing the 2002 Iraq AUMF would have no impact on current military operations. The effect of repeal would be to prevent current and future presidents from misusing it to justify new wars that Congress has not authorized.
This letter is just the latest development in a growing bipartisan movement to repeal the 2002 Iraq AUMF.
This letter is just the latest development in a growing bipartisan movement to repeal the 2002 Iraq AUMF. Earlier this month, FCNL brought a coalition of advocacy groups from across the political spectrum together to write a letter to congressional leadership that named repealing the 2002 Iraq AUMF as a key priority for the NDAA. The Heritage Foundation also announced its endorsement of the provision in a recent report, saying that “[r]epealing the 2002 Iraq AUMF is good policy as it is no longer necessary; its primary purpose has been accomplished.”
The bipartisan support for repealing the 2002 Iraq AUMF extends to Congress, too. The House NDAA provision was favored by 242 representatives on both sides of the aisle. And a Senate measure to repeal the 2002 AUMF (S.J. Res. 13), drafted by Sens. Tim Kaine (VA) and Todd Young (IN), has an equal number of Democratic and Republican cosponsors.
Simply put, there is broad, bipartisan backing for the repeal of the 2002 Iraq AUMF. We hope that Reps. Adam Smith and Michael McCaul and Sens. James Inhofe (OK) and Jack Reed (RI) ensure this provision is retained in the final NDAA, given their leadership positions on the House and Senate Armed Services Committees.
Repealing the 2002 AUMF is a crucially important step towards ending the Forever Wars and encouraging a more peaceful U.S. foreign policy. FCNL will continue to work to urge Congress to repeal this outdated law and reassert its constitutional powers over matters of war.
