IRAQ: Senate Takes 1st Step In Repealing Iraq War Authorizations

IRAQ, Washington, D.C. To terminate this authority as the U.S. approaches the 20th anniversary of the Iraq War, the Senate took a first step toward removing two laws on Thursday granting unlimited approval for military action in Iraq.

Senators approved legislation to repeal the 2002 law authorizing the March 2003 invasion of Iraq and the 1991 law authorizing the U.S.-led Gulf War to drive Saddam Hussein’s forces from Kuwait by a vote of 68-27. Democrats and 19 Republicans both backed the repeal.

The bipartisan initiative comes when politicians from both parties attempt to reclaim congressional control over American military operations and deployments. They claim that the war authorizations are no longer required and might be abused if they are still in effect. The initiative has the support of President Joseph Biden, and the White House released a statement on Thursday endorsing it.

The White House stated that repealing these authorizations will promote the administration’s commitment to a solid and thorough engagement with its Iraqi partners while not affecting the country’s present military operations.

Senators. Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) expressed their opinion that the 68 votes in favor send a strong message to citizens who believe their voices should be heard on issues of war and peace. The repeal campaign has been spearheaded by Young and Kaine, who have been working on it for a while.

“Congress needs to speak up on these issues, and I think this will set a significant precedent going forward,” Young said.

Even if the package passes the Senate, it needs to be clarified whether Republican-led House leaders will put it to a vote. Two years ago, when then-majority Democrats held a vote on the measure, 49 House Republicans voted in favor of it; however, current House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., has rejected it.

They claim that the Iraq war authorizations are no longer required and might be abused if they are still in effect.

Republicans in the Senate had differing opinions on the proposal. Opponents claim that the repeal may give the impression of weakness to the United States’ enemies, despite the support of 19 GOP senators. They have referenced the fact that the administration of President Donald Trump used the 2002 Iraq war resolution as part of its legal argument for a 2020 drone strike by the United States that resulted in the death of Iranian General Qassim Soleimani.

While the nation debated whether a military assault was necessary, the votes in October 2002 to grant President George W. Bush wide power for the invasion — occurring just one month before the midterm elections that year — were a defining event for many members of Congress. When the 9/11 attacks occurred, Iraq had no involvement, and Afghanistan, where the al-Qaida plotters were housed, was already at war with the United States.

Before the vote on Thursday, Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, a Democrat who was a senator at the time and cast a no vote on the measure, said on the Senate floor, “I look back on it, as I’m sure others do, as one of the most important votes that I ever cast.”

According to Durbin, the elimination of this authorization for the use of armed force does not indicate that the United States has turned into a pacifist country. It implies that the United States will be a constitutional republic and that the founding principles of our forefathers will be upheld.

The Bush administration used false intelligence allegations concerning Saddam’s WMDs to gain support for the invasion of Iraq among Congressmen and Americans.

Car bombings, murders, torture, and kidnappings became commonplace in Iraq for many years

American combat forces swiftly learned following the initial invasion in March 2003 that the claims of the existence of nuclear or chemical weapons programs were untrue. Yet, the U.S. takeover of Iraq war’s security forces sparked a vicious sectarian conflict and violent campaigns by Islamic extremist groups. Car bombings, murders, torture, and kidnappings became commonplace in Iraq for many years.

Almost 5,000 American soldiers perished in the conflict. There have likely been hundreds of thousands of deaths in Iraq war.

Because the Iraq War caused “such much hatred” in the past, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, a Democrat from New York, expressed his happiness that the repeal is a bipartisan endeavor in the hours leading up to the vote.

People are weary of the Middle East’s ongoing battles, Schumer added.

The proposal will be debated in the Senate the following week, with potential changes from both sides.

One of the changes that can be considered would abolish a different authorization of military force passed soon after the 9/11 attacks. Although it did not mention any nation, it provided Bush with broad authorization to use force “against any nations, organizations, or persons” that helped organize or carry out the attacks on the United States. This included the invasion of Afghanistan and the battle against terrorism.

Nevertheless, eliminating the broader authority has less support in the Senate and Congress. In the future, changing or amending that authority is something that Biden and some politicians have backed, but “not right now,” according to Kaine because the military is still using it.

Biden “remains committed to working with the Congress to ensure that outmoded authorizations for the use of military force are replaced with a narrow and specific framework more appropriate to protecting Americans from modern terrorist threats,” the White House stated in its statement of policy, appearing to refer to the 2001 authority.

SOURCE – (AP)