Aides: Obama to Seek ISIS War Request Next Week

Will Finally Offer Text of AUMF to Congress

Congressional aides familiar with the situation are reporting on Thursday that they’ve been informed President Obama will finally submit a proposed Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) against ISIS next week.

By law, a president is obliged to seek an AUMF within 90 days of the launch of hostilities. That deadline passed months ago, and while the president initially blamed the 2014 lame duck Congress for not wanting a vote, officials have since insisted they are waiting for Obama to decide on a wording.

That’s no small matter, as the administration has poo-pooed AUMF proposals by Congressmen for placing limits on the conflict which are in keeping with the same limits the president has repeatedly insisted are in place.

Expect the final text to include few limits on the war, no deadline, and a bevy of loopholes allowing escalation of the conflict into additional countries, and against additional targets.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.