US House of Representatives votes to repeal 2002 Iraq war authorisation

The Democratic-led US House of Representatives has voted to repeal the 2002 authorisation for the Iraq War, an effort to curb presidential war powers.

The House revoked the 2002 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) in a vote on Thursday of 268 to 161, with 49 Republicans joining 219 Democrats, reports Xinhua news agency.

"After nearly 20 years of fighting for this, we're finally one step closer to ending forever wars," Congresswoman Barbara Lee, the sponsor of the repeal bill, said in a tweet after the vote.

The 2002 AUMF allows military action to defend the national security of the US "against the continuing threat posed by Iraq".

It was repeatedly used by the following US Presidents to justify military action against terrorist threats.

The former Donald Trump administration cited the 2002 AUMF as a legal justification for launching drone strikes that killed Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad in January 2020.

The House voted to repeal the 2002 AUMF after the strike, but the effort went nowhere in the Senate, which was then controlled by Republicans.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Wednesday voiced support to revoke the authorisation and said he would put a similar measure on the Senate floor.

US media reported that the momentum is building for full congressional repeal of the 2002 authorisation.

The White House said in a statement earlier this week that the administration supports the move.

"The President is committed to working with the Congress to ensure that outdated authorisations for the use of military force are replaced with a narrow and specific framework appropriate to ensure that we can continue to protect Americans from terrorist threats," it added.

--IANS

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