Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine says if elected, Hillary Clinton would pursue an updated authorization for use of military force (AUMF) for the battle against the Islamic State terrorist group.
“Hillary agrees with me on this,” Mr. Kaine said, while saying they might have a slightly different take on how to define the legal powers of the legislative and executive branches.
“But Hillary believes this current battle against ISIS — but against non-state terrorism more generally — that that’s based on a 60-word authorization that was passed on Sept. 14, 2001 when about 70 percent of the current Congress wasn’t there when that vote was cast,” he said on CNN’s “The Axe Files” podcast posted online Monday.
“It’s time for us to take that now outdated authorization and really think about what we are confronting and work together to reach some legislative-executive accord about what it is we’re doing, and Hillary has said that’s something she wants to do very early in her administration,” Mr. Kaine said.
The Obama administration has been relying on a 2001 authorization for the battle against al Qaeda as justification for its military campaign against the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL. President Obama has submitted a plan to Congress for an updated one, but it was criticized both for going too far in allowing limited use of ground troops and for not doing enough to lay out a credible plan.
“It’s time for Congress to get back in the game and refine and revise that authorization, and really look at what it is to be engaged in military action against non-state terrorist groups,” Mr. Kaine said.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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