Repeal the Military Force Law
Three days after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Congress
approved the Authorization for Use of Military Force. It was enacted
with good intentions — to give President George W. Bush the authority to
invade Afghanistan and go after Al Qaeda and the Taliban rulers who
sheltered and aided the terrorists who had attacked the United States.
But over time, that resolution became warped into something else: the
basis for a vast overreaching of power by one president, Mr. Bush, and
less outrageous but still dangerous policies by another, Barack Obama.
Mr. Bush used the authorization law as an excuse to kidnap hundreds of
people — guilty and blameless people alike — and throw them into secret
prisons where many were tortured. He used it as a pretext to open the
Guantánamo Bay camp and to eavesdrop on Americans without bothering to
obtain a warrant. He claimed it as justification for the invasion of
Iraq, twisting intelligence to fabricate a connection between Saddam
Hussein and the 9/11 attacks.
The right solution is for Congress to repeal the 2001 authorization. It could wait to do that until American soldiers have left Afghanistan, which is scheduled, too slowly, for the end of 2014. Better yet, Congress could repeal it now, effective upon withdrawal.
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