U.S. military involvement in Israeli conflicts requires congressional approval, House lawmakers say

WASHINGTON. A group of progressive House lawmakers is questioning the U.S. military’s involvement in the growing conflict in the Middle East, arguing that the deployment of U.S. troops to Israel and other support violates constitutional law.

Five House Democrats are asking President Joe Biden to detail and justify the role of the U.S. military in aiding Israel in its ground invasions of Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, as well as in the country’s hostilities with Iran and Iran-backed militants.

Lawmakers say the U.S. military’s comprehensive intelligence sharing and operational coordination with Israel, as well as the decision last month to send 100 U.S. troops to Israel to operate a missile defense system, exceeded the president’s authority.

“America’s military involvement in these wars was not authorized by the United States Congress as required by the Constitution and laws of the United States,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to Biden. “Congress has the exclusive right to declare war.”

The letter was spearheaded by Reps. Rashid Tlaib, D-Mich., and Cory Bush, D-Mo., and signed by Reps. Andre Carson, D-Ind., Summer Lee, D-Pa., and Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.

The lawmakers are vocal in their opposition to Israel’s military operations in the Middle East and have said they seek to restore congressional military powers amid growing instability in the region.

The uneasy peace in the Middle East soured last year after Hamas and other militants from Gaza invaded Israel, killing civilians and taking hostages. The attack sparked Israel’s deadly war in Gaza and conflict with other Iranian-backed militias, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen.

Iran and Israel have also traded direct blows against each other for months.

“The American people have made it clear that they want to see an immediate ceasefire, an end to these wars and the return of hostages, not deepening American involvement in a potentially endless regional war,” the lawmakers wrote.

They said they were concerned about the deployment of US troops in the region and the involvement of special operations and intelligence personnel in identifying targets for Israeli operations in Gaza.

Lawmakers also expressed concern over reports that US military officials were discussing US military strikes against Iran.

“This current involvement and any additional involvement or deployment of military forces in the Israeli government’s expanding regional war falls within the definition of “military action” in the Military Forces Resolution and is not in response to an imminent or actual attack on the United States of America. States”, the legislators wrote. “As such, these actions are unauthorized.”

The War Powers Resolution of 1973 provides that only Congress can authorize the sending of US military personnel to combat operations abroad by declaration of war, legal authorization, or if an attack on the US creates a national emergency.

According to the resolution, Congress can also order the withdrawal of any US troops engaged in unauthorized hostilities.

“The executive branch cannot continue to ignore the law without intervention from Congress,” the lawmakers warned in their letter. “The American public deserves to have a say about the war. Thus, Congressional participation and debate is necessary.”

Democratic and Republican members of Congress have bristled at Congress’s lack of involvement in recent conflicts.

In January, senators challenged the legality of US airstrikes against Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who began firing drones and missiles at ships in the Red Sea at the start of the Gaza war.

“We have long advocated for focused processes in Congress and authorization to make decisions that threaten service members overseas,” the senators said.

Congress has not signed any war authorizations since the 2002 Iraq War and last granted its military authority in 2019, when it passed a resolution calling on then-President Donald Trump to end U.S. support for a Saudi-led military intervention against Saudi Arabia. Hussy

The authorization, which Congress approved in 2001 to allow the US president to prosecute those responsible for the 9/11 attacks, has been widely used since then to justify military operations in at least 22 countries, according to the Watson Institute for International and Public. Brown University Affairs.