🧵New War Powers report

This is a strange document.

I used to help draft these letters and I have never seen one like this.

A few observations: 1/n Unlike any other unclassified, 48-hour War Powers report, this letter does not specify what it is reporting.

Neither the military action nor the location are identified. 2/n

🧵 Some legal issues raised by the US shoot down of a Turkish drone over northern Syria that was deemed to be a threat to US forces on the ground. 1/n

wsj.com/world/u-s-jet-… First, what was the domestic legal authority for the action?

Since the Obama admin, the executive branch has cited the 2001 AUMF as authority for counter-ISIS ops in Syria.

Trump admin also argued 2001 AUMF provided ancillary authority for defense against non-ISIS forces. 2/n

🧵The House Foreign Affairs Committee has posted the written statements of the administration witnesses for today's AUMF hearing.

Some key takeaways on what the Biden administration wants in an updated AUMF. 1/n
foreignaffairs.house.gov/hearing/reclai… The admin wants uninterrupted authority to continue ongoing operations under the 2001 AUMF- against ISIS, AQ, and al Shabaab, as well as GTMO detention.

Opposes addition of Taliban and Iran-backed groups to any new AUMF--US not in conflict w/ Iran, doesn't want one. 2/n

🧵The US has filed its "Article 51" letter arguing that recent US airstrikes on "militia groups affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps" constituted lawful self defense.

I used to draft these documents.

This one is inadequate. 1/n

documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/… The letter neither specifies the groups who attacked US forces nor the groups the US targeted in response.

The letter does specify from where the fatal drone attack on US forces was launched. Syria? Iraq? 2/n

🧵 Rep Gaetz has introduced a new resolution under Section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution, this time regarding Somalia.

Setting aside the (ahem) matter raised in @kenklippenstein's article, the resolution itself raises a number of issues. 1
theintercept.com/2023/03/29/mat… Background:

By airstrikes, Somalia is most active theater of the war on terror.

But Congress never voted for war against Al Shabaab.

The executive branch unilaterally went to war & then invoked 2001 AUMF.

@CrisisGroup recounts that history here. 2

crisisgroup.org/united-states/…

Flagging a few noteworthy accountability-related elements in today's G7 Leaders' Statement as posted by the White House. 1/n

whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/… First, the statement characterizes indiscriminate attacks as war crimes.

Not a legally controversial position....2/n

Noteworthy indictment of Mauritanian national for a number of terrorism-related charges, including for the killing of a US citizen in the November 2015 attack on the Radisson Blu Hotel in Bamako, Mali. 1/n

justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/m… DOJ's statement doesn't mention the role of US armed forces in responding to the attack on the Radisson Blu, a story @kyle_rempfer has reported on. 2/n

armytimes.com/news/your-army…

🧵Happy periodic War Powers report day to all who celebrate.

A few observations (as someone who used to help prepare these reports) on the White House's latest letter to Congress regarding deployments of US armed forces equipped for combat.
1/n

whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/… First, the report is notable for what it omits--any reference to the strike on Ayman al Zawahiri in Kabul.

In contrast, the letter does mention the 23 August US strikes on unidentified "Iran-backed" groups in Syria previously notified in a 48-hour report. 2/n

The United States has submitted an Article 51 to the UN Security Council, laying out its argument that recent US strikes in Syria were lawful measures of self-defense. A few observations as someone who used to write these letters. 1/n First, like the recent War Powers report, this Article 51 letter only addresses the pre-planned US airstrikes on 23 August. It does not discuss the subsequent two days of fighting which resulted in US casualties and fatalities amongst the "Iran-backed militia groups." 2/n

New report from @CrisisGroup on 20 years of the US war on terror. Some key points from Overkill.
🧵 (1/12)

crisisgroup.org/united-states/… Over two decades, the US war on terror has metastasized, spreading to new groups (eg ISIS, Al-Shabaab, and AQIM) and new countries, principally because of decisions made within the executive branch of the US government. (2/12)

The allegations in this case raise war powers issues that are worth examining. (1/9) 🧵

https://twitter.com/Kyle_Rempfer/status/1438325800508563460

Under the War Powers Resolution, if US armed forces are introduced into "hostilities" (eg exchanges of fire) w/o statutory authorization then Congress must be notified w/in 48 hours AND US armed forces must be removed from hostilities after 60 days. (2/9)

.@charlie_savage refers to a letter from Bob Bauer and @jacklgoldsmith to AAAG Johnsen asking that she withdraw three GW Bush admin OLC opinions on presidential war powers. The memos are extreme and contemplate unconstrained presidential power and should be withdrawn. (1/5)

https://twitter.com/charlie_savage/status/1435913556940165125

These memos are not the only poorly reasoned and potentially dangerous war powers opinions on the books. As I wrote in @just_security, Bill Barr's "Override Opinion" which holds the President has power to override the UN Charter, is another. (2/5)
justsecurity.org/73412/revisiti…