Afghanistan is a wake-up call

The heartbreaking tragedies unfolding in Afghanistan following President Joe Biden’s withdrawal of troops should give us pause to remember how we got here.

Three days after 9/11, Congress hastily enacted the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) “against those responsible for the recent attacks launched against the United States.” With no parameters, sunset clause, or exit strategy, Congress then ceased to discuss, debate or decide how U.S. troops would be used in Afghanistan, and for how long. Twenty years of American occupation followed by a rapidly collapsing nation should be our final wake-up call to see that military force is not effective in bringing long-term stability, security, or democracy to other nations. We must pivot our focus toward diplomacy, peacebuilding, development, and humanitarian aid.

Never has it been clearer that blanket AUMFs are harmful, ineffective, even counterproductive. The outdated 2001 and 2002 AUMFs have allowed four U.S. presidents to wage war in 19 countries. In Afghanistan alone, several thousand U.S. troops and contractors, 66,000 Afghan military and police, and scores of Afghan civilians have lost their lives. At such an extraordinary cost, Congress must reassert its constitutional authority to decide where, when, and with whom our country goes to war. I applaud Sen. Chuck Grassley for his original cosponsorship of the bipartisan repeal of the 2002 Iraq AUMF and urge Sen. Joni Ernst and Rep. Ashley Hinson to join him in restoring the balance of power in our country.

Trish Bruxvoort Colligan

Strawberry Point