WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — US Congress should implement an adjusted 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) to address threats emanating from Al-Qaeda affiliates and other terrorist groups, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said in a briefing on Monday.
“There continues to be a more disaggregated threat from Al-Qaeda affiliates and other terrorist organizations that are or were previously affiliated with Al-Qaeda,” Earnest said.
Earnest noted the United States must be vigilant about meeting the threats, “and that is why the President [Barack Obama] believes that refining the 2001 AUMF is something the Congress should do.”
The 2001 AUMF allows the US government to attack any nation, person or organization for which the US president has determined that it aided al-Qaeda’s September 11 terrorist acts against the United States.
“Obviously we have made significant progress in decimating core Al-Qaeda,” he added.
In February 2015, Obama sent a draft war powers authorization to Congress, which would prohibit the US armed forces from engaging in enduring offensive ground combat operations.
If passed by Congress, the AUMF would give the US military a three-year mandate to conduct operations against the Islamic State terrorist group in Iraq and Syria.
