Obama says he has authority for military campaign

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

President Barack Obama told congressional leaders Tuesday he has the authority he needs to launch a broader military campaign to root out violent extremists in Iraq and Syria, a day before outlining his plans to the American people in a prime-time address.

The White House said the president told lawmakers he still would welcome action from Congress that “would aid the overall effort and demonstrate to the world that the United States is united in defeating the threat from ISIL.” That could take the form of specific authorization to fund counterterrorism efforts, as well as to train and equip more moderate elements of the opposition to the Bashar Assad government in Syria.

The president’s broader strategy to confront the Islamic State militants also may include more wide-ranging airstrikes against targets in Iraq and possibly in Syria. Obama also has sought military and political commitments from Europe, the Middle East and elsewhere.

“The president believes this is a high national-security priority,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said.

For Obama, a sustained U.S. intervention in the Middle East is at odds with the vision he had for the region when he ran for president on a pledge to end the war in Iraq, where the role of American fighting forces drew to a close nearly three years ago. The timing of his announcement tonight was all the more striking, with Obama’s address to the nation scheduled just hours before anniversary commemorations of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that drew the U.S. into war in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Even before Obama’s meeting with Senate and House leaders, some lawmakers had suggested a congressional vote on the president’s plans was unlikely before the midterm elections in November.

“As a practical matter, I don’t really see the time that it would take to really get this out and have a full debate and discuss all the issues,” said Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon, R-Calif., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.

However, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Obama should seek congressional approval for whatever he has decided to do.

“I think it is to his advantage and the country’s advantage to have Congress buy into that,” McConnell said before joining other Republican and Democratic leaders in the Oval Office Tuesday afternoon for a meeting with Obama that lasted just over an hour.

None of the leaders spoke to reporters as they left the White House.

Beyond authorizing military force, Congress could show its support for a broader mission by authorizing two initiatives Obama outlined earlier this year: $5 billion to fund counterterrorism missions and $500 million for arming and training Western-backed Syrian rebels.