Senators to press Tillerson and Mattis on new war authority

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's national security brain trust faces Congress on the need for a new war authorization as the deadly ambush in Niger is igniting a push among many lawmakers to update the legal parameters for combat operations overseas.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson are scheduled to testify before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee later today. They told the panel behind closed doors three months ago that a 2001 law gave the military ample authority to fight terrorist groups.

But that's a position that won't wash with a growing number of congressional Republicans and Democrats, many of whom were startled by the depth of the U.S. commitment in Niger and other parts of Africa. They've argued the dynamics of the battlefield have shifted over the past 16 years and it's past time to replace the post-Sept. 11 authorization to fight al-Qaida with a law that reflects current threats.

Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said today on CNN most members of Congress weren't even in office when the authorization for the use of military force was signed into law by President George W. Bush. Coons said it would have been difficult to imagine at the time U.S. soldiers would be killed in Africa by Islamic State militants based on an attack launched in 2001 from thousands of miles away in Afghanistan.

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said last week he believed most Americans would be surprised by the extent of the operations in Africa that U.S. forces are involved. Kaine and Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., are sponsoring legislation to install a new war authority for operations against the Islamic State group, al-Qaida and the Taliban.