WASHINGTON, DC (AP/WMOT) -- Pushing their ongoing feud aside, Tennessee Senator Bob Corker hopes to renew President Trump’s authority to conduct the war on terror.
Some in Congress believe the authorization needs to be updated. They argue, for example, that the growing use of armed drones needs to be addressed.
Democrats would like to see a new war authorization place limits on President Trump’s war authority, including the use of nuclear weapons.
Senator Corker this week chaired a hearing to explore whether a bitterly divided Congress can agree on such an authority.
The Tennessee Republican favors reauthorization, but he does have reservations.
“We should update the AUMF (Authorization for Use of Military Force) to reflect the current conflict and reassert Congresses’ constitutional role, but we cannot risk undermining the legal foundation for this critical fight.”
Corker also says any new war authority needs to be strongly bipartisan. Otherwise, fears it may give the nation’s enemies the impression that America is losing its resolve to fight terror.
President Trump argues the current war authority is sufficient. He sent Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to testify before Corker’s committee.
Tillerson told Senators that if they do create a new authorization, it should be open ended and worldwide, with no gap between the old and new authorities.
“Failure to do so could cause confusion and paralysis in our military operations. Diplomatically speaking, it could cause our allies in the global coalition to question our commitment to defeating ISIS.”
The war authority currently being used by President Trump was passed by Congress sixteen years ago during the Bush Administration in the wake of the 2001 terror attacks.