An Army captain is suing President Obama over the legality of the United States’ fight against the Islamic State.
The plaintiff, Capt. Nathan Michael Smith, an intelligence officer stationed in Kuwait, wrote that the war against the terrorist group has not been authorized by Congress, something Obama has continually claimed he does not need.
“To honor my oath, I am asking the court to tell the president that he must get proper authority from Congress, under the War Powers Resolution, to wage the war against ISIS in Iraq and Syria,” Smith wrote, according to the New York Times.
Obama has argued that the fight against the Islamic State is legal because Congress authorized a fight against the perpetrators of the Sept. 11 terror attacks. This argument is controversial, as the Islamic State and the current al Qaeda leadership are not united. The Obama administration has asked Congress to authorize military force against the Islamic State, but no action has been taken.
Smith’s lawyers are David Remes, who has represented Guantanamo Bay detainees in habeas corpus lawsuits, and Bruce Ackerman, a Yale Law School professor.
In a column last year for The Atlantic, Ackerman argued the war against the Islamic State was illegal — an article that he says prompted Smith to reach out to him.
