Secretary of State
John Kerry asked Congress on Tuesday for new war powers to provide the
legal grounding for U.S. military operations against the Islamic State,
but said any new authorization should not limit the fight to Iraq and
Syria and should not bind President Barack Obama from ever deploying
ground troops against the group if necessary.
Obama
has been using congressional authorizations that former President
George W. Bush relied on after 9/11. Critics say the White House's use
of post-9/11 congressional authorizations is a legal stretch at best.
Obama
has insisted that he already had the necessary legal authorities to
take against IS. He has sent about 3,000 U.S. troops to train and assist
Iraqi security forces, and since September, a U.S.-led coalition has
launched hundreds of airstrikes against targets in Iraq and Syria. More
recently, the president has said that he wants a new Authorization for
Use of Military Force and Kerry's testimony is the first time that the
administration is asking Congress to pass one.
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