Kerry Urges Flexibility In U.S. War Powers Against Islamic State

Source: REUTERS

By Lesley Wroughton
WASHINGTON Tue Dec 9, 2014 5:56pm EST

(Reuters) - Any congressional authorization of U.S. military force against Islamic State should be flexible and not limit the fight to Iraq and Syria, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday.

The authorization should also not restrict U.S. President Barack Obama in deploying combat troops against the militant group if needed, Kerry told a Senate committee debating the need for an Authorization for the Use of Military Force, or AUMF.

The Obama administration has argued that its current campaign of air strikes against Islamic State is legal, based on authorization passed in the early 2000s for the campaigns against al Qaeda and associated groups and the Iraq War during the administration of former President George W. Bush.

Kerry said, however, the administration supported updating the authorizations to cover the campaign against Islamic State.

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