House Speaker John Boehner called for President Obama to scrap a war authorization plan he sent to Congress earlier this year, and come up with a tougher proposal to battle Islamic State terrorists that gained new territory in Iraq this week.
“I think given the fight we are in, the president should withdraw the Authorization for the Use of Military Force and start over,” Boehner said Tuesday after a closed-door meeting with GOP lawmakers. “We don’t have a strategy.”
The U.S. fight against the terrorists has come under increasing scrutiny as Islamic State fighters have further encroached on key cities in Iraq, including the city of Ramadi. On Monday, Obama administration officials downplayed the Islamic State’s takeover of that city as a “setback,” a reaction that Boehner criticized.
“Ramadi is overrun by ISIL and the administration says it’s a temporary setback,” Boehner said. “It’s 70 miles from Baghdad. It’s time for the president to get serious about this threat, for Americans and our allies around the world.”
The House and Senate are under pressure to come up with their own proposal authorizing military force against Islamic terrorists in the Middle East.
But lawmakers disagree on the size and scope of a war plan. Democrats and some Republicans oppose the idea of giving the president broad authority to wage a fight against terrorists that could involve greater use of U.S. ground troops and a larger geographical area.
Boehner said it’s up to the president, not Congress, to lead on the AUMF.
“We have one commander in chief at a time,” Boehner said. “It’s the president’s responsibility to wage this battle and the president, in my view, is not taking this as seriously as he should.”
Boehner and other Republicans want the president to devise a new strategy, and say the proposal sent by Obama in February is too weak.
Obama’s plan calls for very limited use of ground troops, has a three-year expiration date and allows U.S. military to fight only Islamic State terrorists and associated groups.
Boehner said Tuesday the president’s plan provides even less authority to use military force than the 2001 law that is now authorizing U.S. air strikes and limited use of ground forces in the region.
