In a historic vote on Tuesday, the United States Senate overwhelmingly passed a measure to repeal two long-running authorizations for military force in Iraq.
The vote was 65 in favor and 28 against, with all dissenting votes coming from Republican senators. The first authorization, enacted during the 1991 Gulf War, and the second in 2002 at the start of the US invasion of Iraq, have been heavily criticized as granting too much-unchecked power over military action to the executive branch, as well as fueling so-called ‘forever wars’ that are no longer deemed necessary.
Democratic Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey spoke ahead of the vote, emphasizing that Congress has not only “the power to declare war but also should have a responsibility to end wars”. He argued that President Joe Biden already had sufficient authority without these authorizations – referencing recent air strikes in Syria – and suggested any debate regarding additional powers should be held separately.
The passage of this bill marks a major milestone for ending two decades of costly United States military spending in Iraq; an estimated ten to thirty million dollars per day. The vote, in part, is because the US government is broke. Tuesday’s vote brought us one step closer to finally putting an end to decades-long military intervention abroad. Whatever the reason, maybe this will bring us one step closer to finally putting an end to decades of military theatre.
