AUMF

Each year as September 11 comes around, we are asked to remember where we were. News stations rebroadcast footage from that fateful day. We honor the nearly 3,000 people killed. And we pledge to “never forget.” 

I was three years old when 9/11 happened and have no actual memory of that day. Much of my memory is not of the day itself, but of the “after”—the wars, policies, and consequences that have shaped the 25 years since. 

Victory came as a brief sentence: “Authorization for Use of Military Force against Iraq (Public Law 102-1; 105 Stat. 3; 50 U.S.C. 1541 noted) is hereby repealed.”

It was almost a throw-away section, buried in page 290 of the 3,086-page National Defense Authorization Act of fiscal year 2026 signed into law last December.

“It is a huge win to prevent further abuse,” said Heather Brandon-Smith, FCNL’s legislative director of foreign policy. “It is the first time in 55 years since the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution that Congress repealed a war powers authorization.”

Washington, D.C. – The Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) celebrates today’s repeal of the Iraq War authorization, known as the 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force against Iraq (Iraq AUMF). We can build peace by removing the legal justification for war.

We are closer than ever to repealing the 2002 and 1991 Authorizations of Use of Military Force (AUMFs) against Iraq! On October 10, the Senate voted to repeal both these AUMFs in a bipartisan amendment to the annual defense policy bill, the FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

Congress passed the 2002 Iraq AUMF to authorize war against Saddam Hussein’s government. That government was toppled in 2003 and the U.S. mission in Iraq officially came to an end in 2011. The 1991 AUMF authorized U.S. military involvement in the Gulf War following Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait.

As the new Gaza ceasefire takes effect today, Israeli forces have begun pulling back, and thousands of Palestinians have begun trekking back to whatever remains of their homes.

After two horrific and painful years, the ceasefire agreement announced this week provides hope for a reprieve from the genocide in Gaza and the return of all hostages.

As we mark the twenty fourth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks this month, we honor and mourn all of those who died on that terrible day. It left a bitter legacy, with hundreds of thousands of people killed, wounded, and displaced in the wars that followed. Last week, we saw the House of Representatives take a concrete step to end one chapter of endless wars by voting to repeal the 2002 Iraq Authorization of the Use of Military Force.

Today, Senator Peter Welch (VT) re-introduced legislation to restore U.S. support for UNRWA, the U.N. agency leading humanitarian aid operations in Gaza.

On February 21, 2025, Reps. Gregory Meeks (NY-05) and Chip Roy (TX-21) introduced legislation to repeal the 2002 Authorization for the Use of Military Force Against Iraq (Iraq AUMF). Twenty-two years ago, this authorization served as the legal backing for the George W.

The second Trump administration has been marked by chaos and rising threats of authoritarianism, oligarchy, and White Christian nationalism.

As President Joe Biden’s term in office comes to an end, he can cement his legacy by taking executive action to terminate the outdated 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq (2002 Iraq AUMF) and move us closer to a future free from war.