Eli Lake, Columnist

What Exactly Is in the Details of the Taliban Truce?

Congress should demand access to all parts of any agreement.

February 16, 2020 at 10:00 PM UTC

Eli Lake is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering national security and foreign policy. He was the senior national security correspondent for the Daily Beast and covered national security and intelligence for the Washington Times, the New York Sun and UPI.

Will they be coming home soon?
Photographer: THOMAS WATKINS/AFP

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In the last year, Congress has begun to claw back its constitutional power to declare war. A possible U.S. truce with the Taliban will show whether the legislative branch is willing to reassert its peace-making power as well.

The latest example of Congress’s renewed interest in its war-making authority is its 55 to 45 vote last week in the Senate limiting the president’s ability to attack Iran unless he gets explicit authorization from Congress. This followed a vote last year to end U.S. military participation in the Saudi-led war in Yemen.