BBC, Washington :
Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday asked lawmakers debating legislation to authorise the war against the so-called Islamic State not to rule out the use of U.S. ground troops in combat.
Kerry also indicated that President Barack Obama would prefer to wait for a vote on an authorisation for use of military force (AUMF) until Republicans control the Senate.
The work of drafting an AUMF can start “over the course of the next days” but final action should wait until “we come back in early January,” the top American diplomat told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
“In the hours, days, and weeks to come, we are determined to work with you, first and foremost to develop an approach that can generate broad, bipartisan support, while ensuring the president has the flexibility he needs to successfully prosecute this effort,” he said.
Democrats and Republicans in Congress have expressed deep skepticism of Obama’s claim that he has full legal authority to wage war on the jihadi group IS, also known as ISIL, under AUMFs passed in 2001 to greenlight the war in Afghanistan or in 2002 to threaten military action against Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. For months, the White House has said it would welcome a new AUMF, but has not sent lawmakers legislative text and has done little to guide the process in Congress.
Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday asked lawmakers debating legislation to authorise the war against the so-called Islamic State not to rule out the use of U.S. ground troops in combat.
Kerry also indicated that President Barack Obama would prefer to wait for a vote on an authorisation for use of military force (AUMF) until Republicans control the Senate.
The work of drafting an AUMF can start “over the course of the next days” but final action should wait until “we come back in early January,” the top American diplomat told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
“In the hours, days, and weeks to come, we are determined to work with you, first and foremost to develop an approach that can generate broad, bipartisan support, while ensuring the president has the flexibility he needs to successfully prosecute this effort,” he said.
Democrats and Republicans in Congress have expressed deep skepticism of Obama’s claim that he has full legal authority to wage war on the jihadi group IS, also known as ISIL, under AUMFs passed in 2001 to greenlight the war in Afghanistan or in 2002 to threaten military action against Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. For months, the White House has said it would welcome a new AUMF, but has not sent lawmakers legislative text and has done little to guide the process in Congress.
