AUMF

On this day 18 years ago, President George W. Bush signed into law the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF).

On Sept. 10, FCNL joined 61 other groups from across the political spectrum to urge Congress to reassert its authority over war by repealing the 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF). The 2002 Iraq AUMF is what allowed the U.S. to levy war against the Saddam Hussein regime. Now, 17 years after its enactment, it is long past time to put this law to rest.

House and Senate negotiators are currently working on a final policy bill that will direct the Pentagon’s efforts over the next year. On Sept. 10, FCNL joined a diverse group of organizations from across the ideological spectrum in sending a letter to House and Senate leaders of the Armed Services Committees. Together they urged them to preserve the Lee amendment to repeal of the 2002 Iraq Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) in the final version of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (NDAA).

We’ve written extensively on the need to repeal the 2001 and 2002 AUMFs. These collected resources reflect our stance on endless war, and our efforts to end it.

On July 24, 54 organizations from across the political spectrum sent a letter to each member of the House of Representatives commending the House for including in the annual defense spending bill a measure to repeal the 2001 Authorization of Use of Military Force (AUMF) .

On July 12, the House of Representatives voted on 438 amendments to the annual defense authorization bill, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

The 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) has kept the United States and much of the world in a perpetual state of war for nearly 18 years. On May 22, members of Congress and advocates participated in a press conference to call on Congress to repeal the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF), prevent war with Iran, and reassert Congress’s constitutional authority on matters of war and peace.

Since 9/11, three U.S. presidents have used the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) and the 2002 Iraq AUMF to justify U.S. military action across the globe without congressional approval or effective oversight.

On April 16, a bipartisan group of senators led by Tim Kaine (D- VA) and Bob Corker (R- TN) introduced a new authorization for the use of military force in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. While these senators have presented the AUMF 2018 as an opportunity for Congress to exercise more oversight over the executive branch, we believe this bill will extend the existing blank check for war.