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   From: yourdime@outlook.com   
      
   WASHINGTON (AP) — More than two decades later, Congress is on the verge of   
   writing a closing chapter to the war in Iraq.   
      
   The Senate voted Thursday to repeal the resolution that authorized the   
   2003 U.S. invasion, following a House vote last month that would return   
   the basic war power to Congress.   
      
   The amendment by Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, a Democrat, and Indiana Sen.   
   Todd Young, a Republican, was approved by voice vote to an annual defense   
   authorization bill that passed the Senate late Thursday — a unanimous   
   endorsement for ending the war that many now view as a mistake.   
      
   Iraqi deaths were estimated in the hundreds of thousands, and nearly 5,000   
   U.S. troops were killed in the war after President George W. Bush’s   
   administration falsely claimed that then-President Saddam Hussein was   
   stockpiling weapons of mass destruction.   
      
   “That’s the way the war ends, not with a bang but a whimper,” Kaine said   
   after the vote, which lasted only a few seconds with no debate and no   
   objections. Still, he said, “America is forever changed by those wars, and   
   the Middle East is too.”   
      
   Supporters in both the House and Senate say the repeal is crucial to   
   prevent future abuses and to reinforce that Iraq is now a strategic   
   partner of the United States. The House added a similar amendment to its   
   version of the defense measure in September, meaning the repeal is likely   
   to end up in the final bill once the two chambers reconcile the two pieces   
   of legislation. Both bills also repeal the 1991 authorization that   
   sanctioned the U.S.-led Gulf War.   
      
   While Congress appears poised to pass the repeal, it is unclear whether   
   President Donald Trump will support it. During his first term, his   
   administration cited the 2002 Iraq resolution as part of its legal   
   justification for a 2020 U.S. drone strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassim   
   Soleimani. It has otherwise been rarely used.   
      
      
   Young said after the vote that he thinks Trump should “take great pride”   
   in signing the bill after campaigning on ending so-called “forever wars,”   
   especially because he would be the first president in recent history to   
   legally end a longstanding war.   
      
   He said the vote establishes an important precedent.   
      
   “Congress is now very clearly asserting that it is our prerogative and our   
   responsibility not only to authorize but also to bring to an end military   
   conflicts,” Young said.   
      
   The bipartisan vote, added to the larger bipartisan defense measure, came   
   amid a bitter partisan standoff over a weeklong government shutdown. Young   
   said the quick vote was an “extraordinary moment” that he hopes “will help   
   some people see that we can still do consequential things in the U.S.   
   Congress.”   
      
   The Senate also voted to repeal the 2002 resolution two years ago on a 66-   
   30 vote. While some Republicans privately told Kaine that they were still   
   opposed to the measure, none objected to the unanimous vote on the floor   
   Thursday evening.   
      
   A separate 2001 authorization for the global war on terror would remain in   
   place under the bill. While the 2002 and 1991 resolutions are rarely used   
   and focused on just one country, Iraq, the 2001 measure gave President   
   George W. Bush broad authority for the invasion of Afghanistan, approving   
   force “against those nations, organizations, or persons” that planned or   
   aided the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.   
      
   Passed in September 2001, it has been used in recent years to justify U.S.   
   military action against groups — including al-Qaida and its affiliates,   
   such as the Islamic State group and al-Shabab — that are deemed to be a   
   threat against America.   
      
   https://apnews.com/article/congress-war-powers-iraq-trump-   
   a6bc311c0b0890022cb818550758c94e   
      
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