The president called on Congress to pass a war authorization tailored to the fight against the Islamic State during Tuesday night’s State of the Union speech, a request he’s made before that’s largely been ignored by lawmakers.
President Obama said lawmakers should pass a new Islamic State-specific war authorization to show commitment to the mission, but noted that the lack of a war authorization would not stop the administration from defeating the terrorist group.
“If this Congress is serious about winning this war, and wants to send a message to our troops and the world, you should finally authorize the use of military force against ISIL. Take a vote,” Obama said.
The same request came in the prior year’s speech, and while it led to many proposals on Capitol Hill, it ultimately yielded no action by lawmakers to pass an Islamic State-specific authorization for the use of military force.
“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. We need that authority,” President Obama said during last year’s State of the Union.
Despite the president’s repeated calls for a new war authorization, the administration maintains that it has the authority to conduct airstrikes and raids under previous authorizations from 2001 and 2002 that authorized military action against al Qaeda and its affiliates as well as in Iraq. Critics have said this amounts to the war standing on shaky legal grounds at best since the Islamic State did not even exist when members voted on those military authorizations.
While some members of Congress have echoed this need for a war authorization to present a united front behind the troops risking their lives, leaders in the Senate are unwilling to debate a bill because of the lack of consensus among lawmakers. Democrats want strict limits on when and how the president can deploy U.S. troops, while Republicans refuse to tie the hands of the commander in chief.
“They want an [authorization] that restricts the president’s latitude … we’re not going to stand for that,” Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., told reporters Monday night. “So I do not expect progress on that.”
The president’s annual speech to the nation comes as the Islamic State has proven its ability to inspire attacks around the world and surveys show Americans are the most worried about a terrorist attack in the U.S. than at any time since the weeks immediately following 9/11.
Obama said that terrorism and the Islamic State pose a direct threat to Americans. The president explained the successes so far in his strategy to defeat the terrorist group, including airstrikes, training local forces, cutting off the group’s access to funds and preventing foreign fighters from joining their ranks.
Countering critics who say that Obama’s lack of action has given up America’s place as a world power, the president said America is still the strongest country in the world “period. It’s not even close.”
“No nation dares to attack us or our allies because they know that’s the path to ruin,” the president said. “When it comes to every important international issue, people of the world do not look to Beijing or Moscow to lead — they call us.”
In the speech, Obama took shots at some of the Republicans running to serve as the next commander in chief, including Donald Trump’s comments on Muslims and Sen. Ted Cruz who said he would carpet bomb parts of the Middle East.
“The world will look to us to help solve these problems, and our answer needs to be more than tough talk or calls to carpet bomb civilians. That may work as a TV sound bite, but it doesn’t pass muster on the world stage,” he said.
Instead, Obama called on Americans to support his “patient and disciplined” strategy that allows America to ensure the safety of its citizens while allowing locals to fight their own battles.
“We also can’t try to take over and rebuild every country that falls into crisis. That’s not leadership; that’s a recipe for quagmire, spilling American blood and treasure that ultimately weakens us,” he said. “It’s the lesson of Vietnam, of Iraq — and we should have learned it by now.”
