Washington: U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter and the top U.S. military officer, Marine Corps General Joseph Dunford, said on Tuesday Congress should debate and vote on a formal authorization to use military force against Islamic State.
Both told a House of Representatives hearing such a vote would aid the fight against the Islamist group, which has seized swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq, although they stressed they did not feel the administration was legally required to obtain such an authorization.
"I absolutely believe that a clear and unequivocal statement of support for the men and women that are prosecuting the campaign and our allies from their elected officials would be absolutely helpful," Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the House Armed Services Committee.
Some Republican and Democratic members of Congress have been debating for years over whether President Barack Obama's administration should obtain congressional backing for military campaigns in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan.
Backing from Carter and Dunford could boost the push for an authorization vote.
The U.S. Constitution gives Congress the right to declare war, but the White House says it has the legal authorities it needs because of authorisations for the use of military force, or AUMFs, passed in 2001 for the fight against al Qaeda and 2002 for the war in Iraq.
"We can conduct what we need to do within the law," Carter said.
Carter told the hearing that the United States is deploying an elite new force of special operations troops to Iraq for the fight against Islamic State.
The hearing was marked by heated exchanges over what Carter meant when he said the country was "at war."
"You heard the secretary of Defense today say both in writing and verbally that we are at war. Who declared that war?" Republican Representative Randy Forbes asked Dunford.
"Who would have actually made that declaration? Is that something you would make? The secretary would make?" he asked.
Dunford acknowledged that Congress would declare war. Carter tried to break in, but Forbes stopped him.
"We are technically not at war, Representative Forbes," Dunford said.
Obama sent Congress an AUMF in February 2015, but neither the House nor the Senate voted on it. Lawmakers disagreed sharply on the appropriate level of U.S. involvement in the Middle East and never came close to agreeing on their own plan.
Both told a House of Representatives hearing such a vote would aid the fight against the Islamist group, which has seized swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq, although they stressed they did not feel the administration was legally required to obtain such an authorization.
"I absolutely believe that a clear and unequivocal statement of support for the men and women that are prosecuting the campaign and our allies from their elected officials would be absolutely helpful," Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the House Armed Services Committee.
Backing from Carter and Dunford could boost the push for an authorization vote.
Advertisement
"We can conduct what we need to do within the law," Carter said.
Advertisement
The hearing was marked by heated exchanges over what Carter meant when he said the country was "at war."
Advertisement
"Who would have actually made that declaration? Is that something you would make? The secretary would make?" he asked.
Advertisement
"We are technically not at war, Representative Forbes," Dunford said.
Advertisement
© Thomson Reuters 2015
COMMENTS
Advertisement
US Confirms Sharing Intel To Prevent Attack At Taylor Swift's Vienna Concert Russian Prison Siege By ISIS Inmates Ends, Hostages Safe Islamic State Claims Attack In Afghanistan That Killed 3 Spanish Tourists 150 mg Semen In Kolkata Doctor's Body, Suspect Gang-Rape: Parents To Court Vandalism At Kolkata Hospital Where Doctor Was Raped, Tear Gas Fired 2 French Rafale Jets Collide Mid-Air, Instructor, Pilot Missing "Secular Civil Code Need Of Times": PM Modi In Independence Day Speech Taylor Swift To Return To Stage For Eras Tour After Vienna Attack Plot "140 Crore Indians Worried About Safety Of Hindus In Bangladesh": PM Modi Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.