WASHINGTON – A US Senate measure that would give congressional approval for US strikes inside Syria never mentions that country and would expire after three years.
Senate Armed Services Committee member Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., on Monday unveiled an authorization for use of military force (AUMF) measure to cover any Syria strikes President Barack Obama might order.
Nelson’s measure would give Obama and future presidents the legal authority “to use appropriate force against the Islamic State … in order to prevent terrorist attacks on the people and interests of the United States and our allies.”
It would, however, prohibit the use of “rotational [US] ground forces,” while also stating the authorization would “expire on the date that is three years after the date of the enactment of this joint resolution.”
It remains unclear if Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., and Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., intend to move the measure. The White House has signaled it has concluded that Obama, for now, needs no new force resolution to go after the violent Sunni group on Syrian soil.
In a statement, Nelson said Congress should approve his measure “so there would be no question as to whether or not the president has the authority to order strikes without first going to Congress.
“This is a barbaric group that’s committed heinous acts of torture and murder, and we have to go after them now — not only in Iraq, but in Syria as well,” Nelson said. ■
Email: jbennett@defensenews.com.
