Obama Administration Considers Endless War against International Terrorism

Obama Administration Considers Endless War against International Terrorism

Al-Qaeda may be waning as a threat, but the Obama administration sees no end to the war on terror as it pursues terrorist “offshoots” that have little connection to the organization behind the September 11, 2001, attacks.

The U.S. now finds itself pursuing not just associates of al-Qaeda but “associates of associates” located in Africa and the Middle East, which has raised a legal issue for the administration.

Until now, the government has relied on the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF), a joint resolution passed by Congress three days after 9/11, which served as the legal basis for hunting down Osama bin Laden and other leaders of al-Qaeda.

But the AUMF limited military action against terrorists to anyone connected to the 9/11 attacks. The fact is, though, the people and organizations now on the administration’s radar weren’t involved in the attacks on the World Trade Center or the Pentagon, which means the AUMF can’t be used to justify going after them.

These new targets of anti-terrorism strategies include the al-Nusra Front in Syria and another group, Ansar al-Sharia, which may have played a role in the attack last September on American diplomats in Benghazi, Libya.

http://www.allgov.com/news/top-stories/obama-administration-considers-endless-war-against-international-terrorism-130311?news=849387