White House Communicates ‘Confusion’ in IS Fight, US Senate Democrat Says

Senate Democrat Tim Kaine commented on the recent US President Barack Obama's call in the US Congress to pass a resolution to authorize the use of force against IS, saying that the delay was connected with the lack of draft language coming from the White House.

WASHINGTON, January 21 (Sputnik) — The White House’s delay in sending the US Congress a draft resolution for the Authorization of the Use of Military Force (AUMF) communicates a sense of confusion on the part of the White House in the US-led fight against the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria, Senate Democrat Tim Kaine told Sputnik on Wednesday.

“If you can’t describe the mission to Congress and the American public, is there confusion about it?” Senator Kaine said in an interview with Sputnik, adding that the lack of draft language coming from the White House “suggests that there is a sense of confusion,” and “that’s not a good impression to leave.”

Kaine commented that the US Congress “can’t wait” to pass a new AUMF to provide the legal authority to the president to conduct military strikes against IS targets in the Middle East. “Regardless whether the White House sends over language or not, we have a constitutional responsibility,” he said.

In his Tuesday State of the Union address, US President Barack Obama called on the US Congress to pass a resolution to authorize the use of force against IS. The White House has not yet sent language to the Congress, leaving a number of US Senators drafting their own versions of an AUMF, six of which were filed in the last session of Congress, according to the Senate record.

Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Bob Corker is currently pursuing the passage of a new AUMF, Kaine noted.

President Obama restated his willingness to work with Congress on an AUMF “to show the world we are united” in the mission against IS during his Tuesday State of the Union address.

Since US-led hostilities against IS began in August 2014, the Obama administration has relied on use of force authorizations from 2001 and 2003 to legally justify US military strikes against IS targets in Iraq and Syria.