Barack Obama came to the White House as the “anti-Bush” president, but now his is following in Bush’s footsteps, wanting to deploy troops to the Middle East at some time in the future. His war powers request to Congress has been carefully worded in an attempt to appease Democrats. If granted, the request provides authorization for the use of military force against the Islamic State (ISIS).
The authorization would prohibit “enduring offensive combat operations.” It only applies to any long-term occupation of territory, not short-term ground forces. It has been reported that Obama’s political base on the far left is outraged.
A variety of different types of combat troops would be allowed under the language in the request. Few believe the president would be reticent to send in ground forces to Syria or Iraq.
It is said he would prefer a coalition of Middle East countries to supply the ground forces. That isn’t going to happen any time soon. Those countries are under threat by those terrorists, yet they have done surprising little, leaving most of the work to the U.S.
Authorization for the current six-month-old bombing campaign against ISIS, has been carried out using the authorizations requested by George W. Bush, in 2001 and 2002.
Politicians and lawyers love to write vague wording when it benefits them, and the wording of Obama’s proposal is so vague, that almost anything is possible, including sending in ground troops. The New York Times reported that the far left is upset that this proposal opens the door to a full-scale military ground conflict.
Predictably, House Democratic leader, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, who condemned former President George W. Bush at every turn during both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, urged prompt legislation to pass the Obama request. She probably didn’t even read it, but she said it was “narrowly tailored” to the fight against Islamic State fighters. It should be noted Pelosi had previously opposed deploying U.S. “boots on the ground.”
Hearings are to be held in both Houses of Congress.
If it is approved, it will be the second authorization of the president’s use of military force this century. The first was in 2002 under President George W. Bush for the invasion of Iraq. A clear link between Bush and Obama, the Nobel Peace Prize winner.
Pundits say this three-year proposal is likely to easily pass the Republican-held House and Senate in the near future.
