Obama Should Have ‘Flexibility’ to Fight ISIL Anywhere – US House Speaker

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — US President Barack Obama should be able to fight the Islamic State (IS) everywhere the terrorist group may be through the strategy outlined in his request for authorizing the use of military force (AUMF), US House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said during a press conference on Thursday.

“I think the president [Obama] should have the flexibility to fight this war wherever it is,” Boehner said.

Boehner also said the White House admitted that the Obama’s draft AUMF was “more restrictive than what they already have in place.”

The House Speaker said that his party would soon hold “rigorous hearings and oversight” on the draft AUMF to make a case for a “strong robust strategy and a strong robust authorization.”

However, on Wednesday, White House spokesperson Josh Earnest said that the draft AUMF had “no geographic limitations” as a way to deter the IS from moving into neighboring territory unharmed by US military forces.

President Obama sent Congress a draft AUMF on Wednesday that would give war powers to the president to conduct operations against the IS. Although the draft AUMF would not authorize an enduring US ground combat role, it would authorize local forces in Iraq and Syria at the forefront of ground combat operations against the terrorist group.

The United States has carried operations against the IS since August. The Obama administration has justified its actions against the IS based on the existing 2001 and 2002 AUMFs, originally passed to target the perpetrators of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, and to authorize the 2003 US invasion of Iraq.