So I just received a press release from Senator Rand Paul’s (R-KY) communications director, Moira Bagley, informing the American public that her boss has introduced an amendment to the Department of Defense Authorization bill to formally end the war in Iraq.
According to the release:
The war in Iraq cannot be considered definitively concluded if Congress does not reclaim its constitutional power to declare war by repealing the underlying authorization. Until Congress takes this action, the President would still possess the legal authority to move troops into Iraq or to conduct kinetic operations within its borders, agreements with the Iraqi government notwithstanding.
This is an important step. President Obama has demonstrated slight regard for Congressional power to authorize where, when and for how long wars will be fought by American soldiers – perhaps the most important task charged our elected officials.
Let us not forget, however, that this legislation will only end the war for American soldiers.
Insurgents continue to wage war against Iraq’s fragile democracy. An Iranian specter looms large to the east. Untold thousands of military contractors remain behind as bodyguards of America’s lingering footprint. Turkey still shells Kurdish revolutionaries in the north.
If nothing else, Senator Paul’s legislative imperative may remind us that while the war may be done for America, the conflict in Iraq is far from over.
