Debate grinds on over force authorization in Iraq
Congressional work on a new authorization of U.S. military forces in Iraq is finally underway, and supporters are still confident that the debate has critical significance even as fighting in the Middle East carries on without them. But that relevance assumes lawmakers eventually will pass something related to President Obama's authorization request, even though no clear […]Leo Shane III reports for the Military Times :
Congressional work on a new authorization of U.S. military forces in Iraq is finally underway, and supporters are still confident that the debate has critical significance even as fighting in the Middle East carries on without them. But that relevance assumes lawmakers eventually will pass something related to President Obama's authorization request, even though no clear timeline or blueprint for a plan has emerged.
Already, about 2,600 U.S. troops have deployed to Iraq in the fight against the Islamic State group, part of a coalition of 60 countries providing logistics and air support to that country's armed forces. That work has been building for more than six months, even without any explicit congressional authorization for those troops to be there. White House officials have maintained they don't need new legal authorization for the military intervention, but would benefit from the unified front that congressional authorization would provide.
