The Wall Street Journal

Congress puts off debate over Syria military strikes

Reuters
Charirman Bob Corker and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee this month will begin debating a rewrite of the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists—a law that has provided the legal backbone for military operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, the Philippines, Georgia, Yemen, Djibouti, Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia.

WASHINGTON—Top lawmakers on Capitol Hill said they won’t vote on authorizing retaliatory U.S. military strikes against Syria over a purported chemical-weapons attack, sidestepping a longstanding and messy debate about what role Congress should play in foreign policy.

A number of members in both parties said President Donald Trump possesses the authority to conduct limited, surgical strikes against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in response to the Saturday attack that killed dozens of civilians.

Read: U.S. rallying support from allies for military strike on Syria

And: Airlines warned of possible airstrikes in Syria over next 72 hours

“I think for a surgical strike, they easily have the authority to do it,” said Sen. Bob Corker, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire agreed. “To initiate the kinds of missile strike he did last year? I think he has the authority to do that,” she said.

The lack of congressional interest in a debate on Syria strikes comes as Congress is about to reopen a long-simmering debate on the 16-year-old law that underpins the war on terrorism.

An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.

Popular on WSJ.com:

Theranos Lays Off Most of Its Remaining Workforce

Trump Lawyer Michael Cohen Described as a ‘3 a.m. Break-the-Glass Call’