By Geoff LaMear
The 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) is older than many of the Americans now sent to Afghanistan. Its corollary, the 2002 AUMF against Iraq, has also lived well beyond the Bush era. And despite four years of lambasting the “forever wars,” President Trump failed to bring an end to the wars in Afghanistan or Iraq. President Biden has a chance to correct that by scrapping and narrowing these military authorizations.
Congress, to its credit, has attempted to repeal or replace the AUMFs in the past. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) introduced legislation in 2019 to repeal the 2002 AUMF to no avail. But according to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the administration is open to reevaluating the AUMFs. This means Biden may finally be the one to deal a death knell to the forever wars.
Why is repealing the AUMFs necessary?
This piece was originally published in The Hill on February 11, 2021. Read more HERE.