Reclaim congressional authority over military force

Our country's founders understood the importance of separating the powers of our government's three branches. Hence, our Constitution placed the power to introduce U.S. armed forces into hostilities in the hands of Congress rather than the president, except for propelling an attack.

The 2001 and 2002 AUMFs (Authorizations for Use of Military Force) were passed to allow the Bush administration to fight al-Qaida and the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq. By now, the AUMFs have been used by 3 presidents acting without congressional approval to justify 41 operations in 19 countries, and most of these operations fall outside the original intent of the AUMFs. Congress is long overdue in reclaiming its constitutional right to say when we wage war.

The House took a major step in this direction by passing a bill to repeal the 2002 AUMF on June 17. Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley has co-sponsored a bipartisan companion bill in the Senate, SJ Resolution 10, to do the same. We hope that Sen. Joni Ernst will likewise reclaim her constitutional power by publicly supporting SJ Resolution 10.

Anthony Robinson

Iowa City