Kaine: U.S. Has Been At War With ISIL For Five Months Without Congressional Authorization

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees, released the following statement today, five months after the start of U.S.-led airstrikes against ISIL on August 8, 2014:  

“Today we enter the sixth month of war against ISIL without Congressional authorization. Until December, when the Senate Foreign Relations Committee took the important first step of debating and approving a specific Authorization For Use of Military Force against ISIL, Congress was silent – an unacceptable abdication of our most solemn responsibility as legislators. Now it’s time to finish what we started and not shy away from what’s required to reach a political consensus on the serious threat ISIL poses and the scope of this critical mission. Additional delay not only sets a dangerous precedent for future conflicts, it dishonors the sacrifice of American servicemembers who are risking their lives in this mission.”

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