Secretary of State John Kerry told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday that any measure authorizing the use of military force (AUMF) against Islamic militants should not ban the use of U.S. ground forces.
Kerry emphasized that President Obama “has been crystal clear” that he prefers to rely on local forces to defeat the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS or ISIL).
{mosads}“However, while we certainly believe this is the soundest policy, and while the president has been clear he’s open to clarifications on the use of U.S. combat troops to be outlined in an AUMF, that does not mean we should preemptively bind the hands of the commander in chief — or our commanders in the field — in responding to scenarios and contingencies that are impossible to foresee,” Kerry said.
In addition, any authorization should not include a “geographic limitation,” he added.
“We don’t anticipate conducting operations in countries other than Iraq or Syria. But to the extent that ISIL poses a threat to American interests and personnel in other countries, we would not want an AUMF to constrain our ability to use appropriate force against ISIL in those locations if necessary. In our view, it would be a mistake to advertise to ISIL that there are safe havens for them outside of Iraq and Syria,” Kerry told lawmakers.
His comments come as the influential committee plans to take up an authorization on Thursday.
The measure would give the president authority to target ISIS and groups fighting on the group’s behalf, according to committee Chairman Robert Menendez (D-N.J.).
The three-year authorization would ban ground troops and require the administration to report back to lawmakers every 60 days, he added.
“In my view, deployment of ground troops at this time would be Groundhog Day in Iraq all over again,” Menendez said.
Kerry said the administration backed the three-year timeframe for the proposed AUMF but with a provision that provides for “possible extensions.”
Menendez noted that his version does not “constrain” the administration because it allows ground forces “as necessary for the protection or rescue of U.S. soldiers or citizen or for intelligence operations, spotters to enable airstrikes, operational planning; or other forms of advice and assistance.”
“My text precludes America from being dragged into an unlimited and unending war in the Middle East,” he said.
Kerry said “none of us can anticipate” possible security scenarios, such as a high-stakes hostage situation or if ISIS comes up on a chemical weapons cache.
Menendez called that approach “open-ended.”
Kerry replied that it “seems to be there’s no way to go through all the hypotheticals.”
The chairman pushed back again, saying if the president wants U.S. troops on the ground he should ask Congress for that authority.
“There’s a famous movie with the line ‘show me the money,’ I’d say ‘show me the language,’ ” Menendez said.