US Lawmakers Push To Repeal 19-Year-Old War Authorization against Iraq

By Staff, Agencies

The US House Foreign Affairs Committee has moved to repeal the 19-year-old authorization for the use of military force in Iraq, weeks after US senators introduced bipartisan legislation to take back the White House’s authorization for the use of military force in the Middle East.

The measure, supported by both Democrats and Republicans, scraps the 2002 authorization for the use of military force [AUMF] against Iraq, which was issued when former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was in power.

A similar move is already in motion in the US Senate, which was proposed by Democratic Senator Tim Kaine and Republican Senator Todd Young, who are pushing to repeal the AUMF, as well as a 1991 measure that also authorized military force in Iraq.

The US is slated to resume strategic talks with Iraqi officials next month regarding the status of its combat forces, as Washington and Baghdad are expected to set the tone for the relationship between the two countries in the coming years.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the talks will be an important opportunity to discuss the two countries’ mutual interests across a range of fields from security to culture, trade and climate.

“The meetings will further clarify that coalition forces are in Iraq solely for the purpose of training and advising Iraqi forces to ensure that Daesh [Arabic acronym for "ISIS" / "ISIL"] cannot reconstitute,” Psaki added.

Talks between the US and Iraq began in June 2020 under the Trump administration. But the upcoming talks are the first under the Biden administration.

Earlier, Iraqi officials confirmed sending an official request to the US to schedule a series of meetings over bilateral relations and the withdrawal of remaining US combat forces.

On Thursday, a number of armed Iraqi groups took to the streets of the capital Baghdad in a show of force, demanding the expulsion of all foreign forces from Iraq. The move was lauded by Iraqis in social media networks.