A New Chance for Congress to Join the War on Terrorism

President Donald Trump's announcement of a new strategy for the war in Afghanistan is a reminder that, for far too long, Congress has shirked its constitutional responsibility to declare war. With the U.S. also involved in fighting in Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen, the legislative branch needs give the executive branch the legal authority it needs to conduct the military campaign against terrorism.

Efforts to pass a new war authorization, or AUMF, repeatedly failed during the presidency of Barack Obama. Democrats felt that various proposals coming out of the White House and Congress gave the executive branch too much freedom to pursue its own track; Republicans thought they tied the president's hands.