US Senate Votes to Repeal Iraq War Authorization

President George W. Bush authorizes the use of force against Iraq, Oct. 16, 2002. Source: AP News/Ron Edmonds File

In a 66-30 vote, the United States Senate recently voted to repeal the Authorization for Use of Military Force for Iraq, which was used to expand presidential powers for intervention, nearly 20 years after the US military set foot on Iraqi soil. 

The legislation is set to be sent to the House of Representatives for a vote, with Speaker Kevin McCarthy endorsing the repeal. The repeal, however, will not affect current military deployments. 

This bill will repeal the legal justifications used to target Iraq in 1991 and 2003 to weaken and remove dictator Saddam Hussein. 

A separate 2001 bill on the war on terror will still remain in place, after an amendment to repeal it failed on the Senate floor 86-9. This bill was used to justify the US military invasion in Afghanistan and continues to be cited against terrorist organizations such as ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Al-Shabab, etc. 

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has been open about his views on the US military in the Middle East. Last week, during a meeting on the bill, he stated, “The United States, Iraq, the entire world has changed dramatically since 2002, and it's time the laws on the books catch up with those changes. These AUMFs have outlived their use. These repeals will not harm our service members abroad, nor will it hinder our ability to keep Americans safe. War powers belong in the hands of Congress.”

While the majority supported the repeal, the minority opposition arose from the Republican Party. Senator Mitch McConnell, the Senate Minority Leader, stated that the war in Iraq was not initiated to inflict violence on the Iraqi population, but it was a means to ensure that the US had control over threats from that region such as Iran.

Senator Chuck Schumer speaks to reporters outside the chamber in the Capitol on March 28, 2023. Source: AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

Since the US military occupation in Iraq, the nation has endured civil war and violence from external and internal sources. The war against Iraq has led to the deaths of over 4,400 Americans and over 300,000 Iraqis. 

American citizens around the nation were recruited after the Bush Administration falsely accused Saddam Hussein of harboring weapons of mass destruction. 

It is believed that Iraq was on the hunt for nuclear weapons in the 1980s and by the end of the Gulf War, it created biological and chemical programs. Prior to the war in Iraq, the nation was accused of withholding information from international inspectors that it ultimately expelled from the country at the end of the 90s. 

While it is a fact that Saddam Hussein’s authoritative regime jeopardized the liberty, stability, and rights of the Iraqi citizens, the false claims made by the Bush Administration did more damage than Saddam Hussein when he was in power.

After Saddam Hussein was overthrown, Islamic State fighters and militias in Iran emerged within the country, clashing with its citizens as well as the US soldiers. 

In 2020, the Trump administration fired a drone strike in Iraq that eliminated Iranian general Qassem Suleimani. The Trump administration justified their actions by citing the 2002 Iraq war resolution. 

To this day, Iraq is still struggling to stabilize in the wake of intervention and government unrest.