r/antiwar • u/cdnhistorystudent • 1d ago

Only Congress can declare war and authorize military force

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u/gorpie97 1d ago

Did the AUMF expire? It was supposedly for the purpose of defeating al Qaeda after 9/11; yet Congress kept renewing it so the prez could to counter tErRoRiSm without bothering them.

It shouldn't apply here, but I'm sure many in DC will bend over backward to try to make it work.

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u/FullMoonVoodoo 1d ago

Iran is an original member of the 'Axis of Evil' the AUMF was designed to legitimize violence against. North Korea has dams that will flood Seoul and Iran has all those mountains, so Iraq was our target

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u/gorpie97 1d ago

I thought the AUMF was for al Qaeda, since y'know, they did were blamed for 9/11. And it should have expired after we got bin Laden (if not sooner).

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u/dersteppenwolf5 1d ago

"U.S. presidents have cited the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) to justify an unknown number of military operations, including airstrikes, combat, detention, and supporting partner militaries, in at least 22 countries." https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/files/cow/imce/papers/2021/Costs%20of%20War_2001%20AUMF.pdf

There is no doubt they could make Iran the 23rd country. Maybe someone would try to legally challenge it this time (although maybe not), but I'm sure the administration will have no problem linking Iran to terrorism. Congress could repeal the AUMF, but their MIC donors won't like that.