Sen. Rand Paul introduced a declaration of war against the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) Wednesday, attempting to provide congressional authorization for what President Obama already ordered in September.
Paul has argued that the president has not had constitutional justification for his actions against the extreme terrorist group, as the U.S. has conducted multiple air strikes in Iraq and Syria. U.S. and coalition forces surpassed 1,000 strikes against ISIS two weeks ago, according to a Military.com report, the majority of those being led by the American military.
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“I believe the President must come to Congress to begin a war and that Congress has a duty to act,” Paul said in a statement. “Right now, this war is illegal until Congress acts pursuant to the Constitution and authorizes it.”
The Obama administration has argued that it possesses authority to order the strikes under an authorization of military force Congress passed in response to the September 11 attacks. That document, signed into law by President Bush shortly after the attacks, states that the president has authority “to take action to deter and prevent acts of international terrorism against the United States.”
Paul’s resolution states that this law does not provide authority for the U.S. to use military force against ISIS. The resolution also limits the authorization of ground forces to rescue operations, operations against “high value targets,” and intelligence and advisory deployments.
