Friday, March 10, 2023

On Wednesday, the US House of Representatives voted 321-103 against a resolution that would require the withdrawal of US troops from Syria. Congressman Matt Gaetz introduced the concurrent resolution on March 1, directing the US President to remove all 900 US Armed Forces members from Syria.

The resolution had four co-sponsors—all Republicans. The resolution was drafted in response to the announcement of four US service members wounded in Syria during an operation that killed a senior Islamic State (ISIS) leader. Gaetz stated: “I do not believe what stands between a caliphate and not a caliphate are the 900 Americans who have been sent to this hellscape with no definition of victory.” On his official Congressional home page, Gaetz argued: “Congress has never authorized kinetic participation of US Armed Forces in Syria.” US military operations in Syria and their authorization by Congress is an ongoing debate within Congress.

Congressman Michael McCaul argued that withdrawing forces could lead to a resurgence of ISIS. “If we withdraw our troops from Syria now, we could see a resurgence of ISIS or another legal successor in a short time.” He also clarified what victory meant, “Withdraw of this legal authorized US troop deployment must be based on the total defeat of ISIS.” McCaul is the Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee in the 118th Congress.

Congressman Gregory Meeks said “This measure forces a premature end to our mission at a critical time for our efforts.” Meeks opposes an indefinite presence of US military forces in Syria, but sees Gaetz’s proposal as ending it too soon. On June 17, 2021 Meeks voted in favor of H.R.256, a bill meant to repeal part of the authorization being used for anti-ISIS operations in Syria. H.R.256 passed in Congress but was never passed by the Senate.

US military operations have been conducted in Syria since August 2014 as part of Operation Inherent Resolve. Though Gaetz asserts there has been no authorization, the Authorization for Use of Military Force of 2001 (AUMF) has been used by multiple US Presidents to justify the continued use of military force in Syria. The 2001 AUMF is the longest, continuously-used authorization of military force in US history. The 2001 AUMF was originally passed to authorize military action in response to the September 11 attacks. The 2002 AUMF was originally passed to authorize Operation Iraqi Freedom, which began the Iraq War. The Obama Administration maintained that Presidential authority to use force against the Islamic State was justified by both the 2001 AUMF and 2002 AUMF.

The President’s authority to militarily engage in anti-ISIS operations under the authority of both the 2001 and 2002 AUMFs is an ongoing debate in Congress. Efforts to address these concerns and enact new authorization for anti-ISIS operations began in the 113th Congress (2013 – 2015), according to a report prepared by the Congressional Research Service. Both the 2001 and 2002 Authorizations for Use of Military Force are still being used to justify Operation Inherent Resolve against the Islamic State in both Iraq and Syria, despite ongoing debate and attempts to repeal the authorization.

The House of Representatives voted to repeal the 2002 AUMF in June 2021, as part of H.R.256. Representative Meeks said at the time, “Repeal is crucial because the executive branch has a history of stretching the 2002 AUMF’s legal authority.” That bill passed the House of Representatives but was not passed by the Senate. On March 8, 2023 the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 13-8 to approve a Senate bill (S.316) to repeal the 2002 AUMF as well as a 1991 AUMF. That bill has now been recommended by the committee for a vote by the full House or Senate. It must pass both before it can be sent to the President to sign into law or veto.

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