“We’re not focused on the former al-Nusra Front [Al Qaeda in Syria]. We’re focused on Daesh [ISIS]. And that’s what we’re fighting and that’s where therefore we look and where we target.” U.S.Defense Department press briefing, 16 August 2016
Basic
to America’s war against terrorism was Al Qaeda as being the specific
target, but, on August 16th, a U.S. Defense Department spokesperson said
that Al Qaeda is no longer an enemy of the United States at all, and
that only ISIS is America’s enemy in the war against terrorism. However,
Congress never authorized anything but Al Qaeda to be the enemy in the
war against terrorism. Consequently, President Obama is now violating
the law by his no longer targeting Al Qaeda at all, and he is also
ignoring the law by his targeting ISIS (as he has long been doing)
without requesting a new authorization from Congress to do so — an
authorization that both Democrats and Republicans in Congress would be
virtually certain to grant immediately. This new war-authorization would
need to rectify a key failing of the original war-authorization, by
naming “jihadism” specifically as America’s enemy, so that regardless of
what a particular jihadist group is, it can legally be a target to
eliminate. Under the existing resolution, only Al Qaeda can be targeted,
because that was the group which was ultimately determined to have
caused 9/11, and because the existing war-authorization is restricted to
only the organization that perpetrated that specific jihadist
act. This new war-authorization would thus need to replace, instead of
modify, the existing authorization, so that U.S. military action can
legally be taken against any jihadist group, and not only (as at present) against Al Qaeda.
The
Congressional resolution that on 14 September 2001 authorized the U.S.
President to make war in response to 9/11, declared the President “authorized
to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations,
organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed,
or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001.”
That was subsequently interpreted