An AUMF Against the Islamic State, and More from CRS
Ongoing U.S. military action against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria lacks any specific authorization from Congress. A comparative analysis of various proposals for Congress to enact an Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) against the Islamic State is provided in an updated report from the Congressional Research Service.
“Although the Obama Administration has claimed 2001 AUMF and 2002 AUMF authority for its recent and future actions against the Islamic State, these claims have been subject to debate,” the report said.
“Some contend that the Administration’s actions against the IS also fall outside the President’s Article II powers. Concerned with Congress’s constitutional role in the exercise of the war power, perceived presidential overreach in that area of constitutional powers, and the President’s expansion of the use of military force in Iraq and Syria, several Members of Congress have expressed the view that continued use of military force against the Islamic State requires congressional authorization. Members have differed on whether such authorization is needed, given existing authorities, or whether such a measure should be enacted.”
“This report focuses on the several proposals for a new AUMF specifically targeting the Islamic State made during the 113th and 114th Congresses. It includes a brief review of existing authorities and AUMFs, as well as a discussion of issues related to various provisions included in existing and proposed AUMFs that both authorize and limit presidential use of military force.” See A New Authorization for Use of Military Force Against the Islamic State: Issues and Current Proposals, January 15, 2016.
Other new and newly updated reports from the Congressional Research Service include the following.
North Korea: Legislative Basis for U.S. Economic Sanctions, updated January 14, 2016
North Korea: A Comparison of S. 1747, S. 2144, and H.R. 757, January 15, 2016
North Korea: U.S. Relations, Nuclear Diplomacy, and Internal Situation, updated January 15, 2016
Department of Homeland Security Appropriations: FY2016, updated January 14, 2016
Iran’s Nuclear Program: Tehran’s Compliance with International Obligations, updated January 14, 2016
Pakistan’s Nuclear Weapons, updated January 14, 2016
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The grant comes from the Carnegie Corporation of New York (CCNY) to investigate, alongside The British American Security Information Council (BASIC), the associated impact on nuclear stability.
Satellite imagery of RAF Lakenheath reveals new construction of a security perimeter around ten protective aircraft shelters in the designated nuclear area, the latest measure in a series of upgrades as the base prepares for the ability to store U.S. nuclear weapons.
It will take consistent leadership and action to navigate the complex dangers in the region and to avoid what many analysts considered to be an increasingly possible outcome, a nuclear conflict in East Asia.