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Clear & Present Danger

11.24.14

The Kentucky senator, seeking to define himself as a foreign-policy heavyweight ahead of 2016, will introduce a measure in the Senate next month declaring war on the terror group.

The most important part of Rand Pauls assessment of questions of war, the Kentucky senator told The Daily Beast this fall, is how you go to war. Now hes putting that assessment into action with a plan to introduce a declaration of war against ISIS in the Senate next month.

The move is part of Pauls ongoing campaign to position himself as a foreign-policy heavyweight ahead of the Republican presidential primaries, when he is expected to mount a campaign for the nomination. But it may simply be dismissed as a tit-for-tat gesture as Republicans complain of executive overreach in the aftermath of President Obamas executive order on immigration.

As Obama is hit with charges of overstepping his power, Pauls resolution could be perceived as an attempt to strike back in another conflict: the now 200-year-old war between the executive and legislative branches of government. The senators resolution would turn on its head the traditional process by which presidents lead the United States into conflict and Congress says, Sure, why not?

In a draft of the resolution obtained by The Daily Beast, Paul states that the organization referring to itself as the Islamic State has declared war on the United States and its allies and that ISIS presents a clear and present danger to United States diplomatic facilities in the region, including our embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, and consulate in Erbil, Iraq.

The Obama administration has justified the bombing campaign against ISIS by claiming that it is enabled by the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force in Afghanistan, passed in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, and the 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force in Iraq. Pauls resolution would terminate the latter and place an expiration date on the former, one year after the passing of his resolution.

Perhaps most surprisingly, Pauls resolution will allow for limited use of boots on the ground as necessary for the protection or rescue of members of the United States Armed Forces or United States citizens from imminent danger [posed by ISIS] for limited operations against high value targets, and as necessary for advisory and intelligence gathering operations.

No. 1: Always go to Congress. We cant do things unilaterally. This used to be the presidents position in 2007, when he ran for office.

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Rand Paul Declares War on ISISand Calls for Boots on ...