Kaine Calls for Senate to Move on 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force

Senator Tim Kaine (D. Virginia) stated on March 16th that the Senate must act to address the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force.

These comments were made by Kaine to The Epoch Times shortly after the Senate voted in favor of a bill to repeal the 2002 and 1991 AUMFs. The first allowed the United States entry into the Gulf War. This was where Saddam Hussein’s forces drove out of Kuwait. After reports that Hussein had weapons-of-mass destruction, the second allowed the U.S. to enter Iraq. In 2003, the United States captured Hussein and executed him in Iraq.

“Here’s what we need to do. Ben Cardin, Chris Murphy, Rand Paul, when we were in the Foreign Relations hearing last week said, ‘Hey, look, as soon as this one’s done, we’ve got to get to 2001,'” Kaine stated.

Democratic Senators. Cardin and Murphy come from Maryland and Connecticut respectively, while Republican Paul comes from Kentucky.

Kaine stated that the 2001 AUMF does not need to be repealed by the bill that would amend the 1991 and 2002 AUMFs because of varying opinions among lawmakers regarding the 2001 authorization. This goes after those who attacked the United States in September 2001.

“Some would repeal it. Some would announce you were repealing it in six months and hope [to] put pressure on to revise it; some feel it needs to be revised,” He said.

“But we have been focused on ‘do this first,’ then turn our attention to it,” Kaine continued. “I think virtually everybody agrees at a minimum it should be revised. But there’s different opinions about [it]—from full repeal to significant revision. And we just have to kind of do the hard work [on] hammering out a position.”

He said that a revised 2001 AUMF would include the following: “depends on who you ask,” But his position is “a more precise definition of the enemy” In that the original definition is “vague.”

Kaine pointed out that the AUMF was used against forces not involved in 9/11. Kaine stated that, while these groups might be enemies of the United States the AUMF has been utilized “beyond what was originally intended.”

The 2001 AUMF states “[t]hat the president is 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, or harbored such organizations or persons, in order to prevent any future acts of international terrorism against the United States by such nations, organizations or persons.”