AUMF
The Corker-Kaine Bill Does Not Open the Door to Attacking Iran: A Reply to Liza Goitein.
I very much appreciate Liza Goitein’s response on Lawfare this morning to an earlier post
Latest in AUMF
I very much appreciate Liza Goitein’s response on Lawfare this morning to an earlier post
On Monday evening, a bipartisan coalition of senators led by Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker (R.-Tenn.) and Sen.
No time to read the draft 2018 authorization for use of military force? I’m not sure this post is all that much shorter, but at least it’s not written in statutory format. The following is my assessment of the most important elements and the issues they raise.
1. How would this new AUMF impact authorities under the two existing AUMFs?
Sens. Bob Corker, Tim Kaine, Jeff Flake, Chris Coons, Todd Young, and Bill Nelson introduced the following draft authorization for use of military force against designated terrorist groups on Monday:
The 2001 authorization for the use of military force (AUMF) authorizes the president to use force against “those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons.” But presidents have steadily interpreted the
Together with David Remes, I presented Capt. Nathan Smith's challenge to the war against the Islamic State before the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on Oct. 27. Judge Thomas Griffith presided, with Judges David Sentelle and Raymond Randolph, joining in a wide-ranging discussion of doctrine and cases that touched on many national security law problems. While the court had officially granted 15 minutes to each side, the hearing lasted for more than an hour. The court has provided a recording of the argument.
On Oct. 30, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee heard testimony from Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary James Mattis on the Trump administration’s views regarding the need for a new authorization for the use of military force (AUMF).
The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations held a hearing on "The Authorizations for the Use of Military Force: Administration Perspective" at 5 p.m. EDT, Monday, Oct. 30.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (read statement here) and Defense Secretary James Mattis testified.
[Update: Several people reached out after I posted last night, drawing attention to the fact that al-Mourabitoun (also spelled al Murabitun) apparently reunited with AQIM after its initial separation from the group. On the other hand, others reached out to point to indications that the particular leader at the center of the current storm—al Sahraoui—may still lead a splinter faction that resisted/resists the return to the AQIM fold.
As federal court and national security experts are noting, on Oct. 27, the D.C. Circuit will hear oral argument in Smith v. Trump (formerly Smith v. Obama). The case challenges the propriety of invoking the 2001 and 2002 authorizations for the use of military force (AUMF) to justify the war against the Islamic State (Operation Inherent Resolve).