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It was exactly 20 years ago this week when the United States began the war in Iraq, which came on the heels of a congressional vote giving the Bush/Cheney administration the authorization to use force. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer reflected on the anniversary on the chamber floor yesterday.
“The United States, the nation of Iraq, and the entire world have changed dramatically since 2002, and it’s time the laws on the books catch up with these changes,” the New York Democrat said. “The Iraq War has itself long been over. [The Authorization for the Use of Military Force approved in late 2022] has outlived its purpose and we can no longer justify keeping it in effect.”
Soon after, a majority of Schumer’s colleagues agreed. NBC News reported:
The Senate voted Thursday to open debate on a bipartisan bill that would repeal the authorizations Congress passed in 1991 and 2002 for the U.S. wars in Iraq. Lawmakers voted 68-27 to proceed with the legislation, a move that required 60 votes and the first of several votes related to the measure. The bill would repeal the authorizations for the use of military force for the Gulf War in 1991 under President George H.W. Bush and for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 under President George W. Bush.
As the roll call reflected, this effort — spearheaded in large part by Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia — had unanimous support from the Democratic majority, but it was not an entirely partisan affair: 12 Senate Republicans also supported the measure.
To be sure, it’s fair to see much of the resolution as symbolic. After all, the United States is not at war in Iraq, and withdrawing the years-old resolutions would not have a practical impact on the country’s military operations or broader national security strategy.
But that doesn’t mean it’s irrelevant. As proponents have argued persuasively, the formal demise of these resolutions would both help Congress reestablish its war-powers relevance and prevent future abuses.
What’s more, the effort got a boost early yesterday when the White House issued a statement of administration policy, emphasizing President Joe Biden’s “longstanding commitment to replacing outdated authorizations for the use of military force.”
At this point, I suspect some of you are feeling some skepticism. “Sure, this is all very nice,” you’re thinking. “But with a far-right House Republican majority in place, it won’t much matter what the Senate passes.”
While I appreciate the low expectations, failure is not assumed. For one thing, some of the GOP senators who support this effort believe its odds will improve with a lopsided vote in the upper chamber, and yesterday’s 68-to-27 vote was a step in that direction.
For another, there are plenty of notable voices on the right who believe this effort has real value. In fact, The Washington Post reported yesterday that Heritage Action, an influential conservative organization, not only endorsed the bipartisan measure, it also urged House Republican leaders to follow the Senate’s lead.
In other words, the repeal resolution has a chance. Watch this space.
Postscript: In case readers are curious, if the war authorizations are repealed, this will be the first time Congress has taken such a step since 1971, when lawmakers agreed to repeal the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution that cleared the way for the war in Vietnam.