McConnell Clears Path for Debate on Giving Obama Broad Powers to Combat ISIS
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Version 0 of 1. WASHINGTON — Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and majority leader, has set the stage for debate on a bill that would give President Obama broad authority to use military force against the Islamic State. Mr. McConnell has generally opposed the idea of revisiting the president’s authority for military operations in the Middle East, warning that the legal language favored by the Obama administration contained limitations that could tie the hands of the next president. Republicans have also resisted accepting any responsibility for military operations that might restrict their ability to criticize the administration’s foreign policy initiatives, which they mostly view as unsuccessful. But aides to Mr. McConnell said the new bill, sponsored by Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, was sufficiently broad and would provide a new platform for showcasing what Republicans view as Mr. Obama’s deep failings in combating the Islamic State. In his State of the Union speech this month, Mr. Obama called on Congress to authorize military action against the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL. “Take a vote,” he told lawmakers. “I agree with the president that Congress should act regarding giving him authority to fight ISIL,” Mr. Graham said at a news conference at the Capitol. “Here’s what I propose: that the authority to fight ISIL is not limited by time, is not limited by means or location. “Here’s what I am asking the president to do: Get behind my resolution,” Mr. Graham continued. “It gives you all the power you need to fight ISIL anywhere they go, using any method necessary, and as long as it takes. I hope Senator McConnell will bring the bill to the floor. The American people need to have this debate. The Congress needs to step up, and here’s the question: Are you all in? They are all in against us. They are moving all over the globe.” Mr. McConnell took a procedural step on Thursday that will allow him to put Mr. Graham’s bill directly on the Senate calendar, bypassing the normal committee process. Senate Democrats have not indicated how they will respond to the measure, and it is not clear that a new authorization of force by Congress would change anything. Previously, Republicans and Democrats have taken the position that Mr. Obama can rely on the war authorization to combat terrorism that Congress granted after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Separately on Thursday, Senate Republicans sharply criticized the Obama administration for moving forward with carrying out the president’s nuclear deal with Iran, saying that the easing of economic sanctions would provide tens of billions of dollars that Iran could use to sponsor terrorist groups. Several senators seized on comments by Secretary of State John Kerry at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in which he said it was possible some money made available to Iran through sanctions relief could ultimately flow to terrorist groups, though he said he did not see the money being directed to such groups yet. “Talk about stating the obvious,” said Senator Kelly Ayotte, Republican of New Hampshire. “They were supporting terrorism when their economy was crippled. They were choosing to put their money into guns, not butter for their citizens, before they had this economic relief. So could it be any more obvious? And to have him actually now say, ‘Oh, you know, well, we think some of this might go to terrorists.’ Duh!” |