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WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama asked Congress yesterday to formally authorise military force against the Islamic State (ISIS) group, arguing the militants could pose a threat to the US homeland if their violent power grab goes unchecked and urging lawmakers to “show the world we are united in our resolve to counter the threat.”
The president elected on a promise to end America’s wars is sending Congress a proposed joint resolution to authorise military force against the swift rise of Islamic State extremists, who are imposing violent rule across Iraq and Syria and have brazenly killed US and allied hostages in brutal online propaganda videos.
In a five-paragraph letter to lawmakers accompanying the three-page draft resolution provided to The Associated Press, Obama said the Islamic State “poses a threat to the people and stability of Iraq, Syria and the broader Middle East and to US national security.”
“It threatens American personnel and facilities located in the region and is responsible for the deaths of US citizens James Foley, Steven Sotloff, Abdul-Rahman Peter Kassig, and Kayla Mueller,” he said, listing the American hostages who died in IS custody.
“If left unchecked, ISIS will pose a threat beyond the Middle East, including to the United States homeland.”
Obama plans to speak on his request from the White House yesterday afternoon.
Obama’s proposal launches an ideological debate over what authorities and limitations the president should have in pursuit of the extremists, with the shadow of lost American lives hanging over its fate. Confirmation of the death of 26-year-old humanitarian worker Mueller on the eve of Obama’s proposal added new urgency, while the costly long-running wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were a caution to some lawmakers against yet another protracted military campaign.
Obama is offering to limit authorisation to three years, extending to the next president the powers and the debate over renewal for what he envisions as a long-range battle. He is proposing no geographic limitations where US forces could pursue the elusive militants. The authorisation covers the ISIS and “associated persons or forces,” defined as those fighting on behalf of or alongside ISIS “or any closely-related successor entity in hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners.”
Obama’s resolution would repeal a 2002 authorisation for force in Iraq but maintain a 2001 authorisation against al-Qaida in Afghanistan, although Obama said in his letter to lawmakers his goal is to refine and ultimately repeal that authorisation as well.
Obama’s proposal bans “enduring offensive combat operations,” a novel term in military force authorisations. Its ambiguity is designed to bridge the divide between lawmakers opposed to ground troops and those who say the commander in chief should maintain the option.
Obama said his draft would not authorise long-term, large-scale ground combat operations like those deployed in the past to Iraq and Afghanistan, arguing those battles should be left to local forces instead of the US military.
“The authorisation I propose would provide the flexibility to conduct ground combat operations in other more limited circumstances, such as rescue operations involving US or coalition personnel or the use of special operations forces to take military action against ISIS leadership,” Obama said, using an acronym for the group.
Senator Bob Corker, the Republican chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he appreciated the president seeking the authorisation and would quickly begin holding “rigorous hearings” on the White House request. — AP.
Online Reporter
Londile Moyo