mobanmarketAnother high-ranking Obama administration official confirmed on Tuesday that the White House’s proposed Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) in the war on ISIS was left intentionally vague to allow for expansive—and potentially limitless—presidential war-making powers.
Since the AUMF was submitted to Congress last month, it has been the topic of debate within and beyond Washington, DC. Many have raised concerns about its broad terms, which impose no geographic limitations, broadly define the “enemy,” allow for deployment of ground combat forces, and leave the controversial 2001 AUMF intact.
The Obama administration has waffled on just how extensive the powers granted in the proposed AUMF are. When he initially submitted the proposal on February 11, Obama claimed it “would not authorize long-term, large-scale ground combat operations like those our Nation conducted in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
However, White House Press Secretary Joshua Earnest stated the same day that the proposed AUMF’s language was left intentionally vague because “we believe it’s important that there aren’t overly burdensome constraints that are placed on the commander in chief.”
And just a few weeks later, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry clarified the AUMF indeed allows for the deployment of combat forces, without clarifying concrete limitations to boots-on-the-ground.
Now, Under Secretary of Defense Christine Wormuth—recently appointed by Obama—is wading into the controversy.
At a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday, Wormuth sought to assure hawkish congressional Representative Richard Nugent (R-Fla.) that the AUMF was intended to allow for wide-ranging presidential powers. The exchange was flagged by journalist Goerge Zornick in an article for The Nation.
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