Adam in the News
Obama asks Congress to authorize military force against ISIS
President Obama on Wednesday formally asked Congress to authorize military operations against the Islamic State militant group. The draft resolution seeking authorization for use of force says the extremist group poses a "grave threat" to Iraq, Syria and stability in the region as well as U.S. national security interests. The U.S. has been conducting military operations against Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, for months, primarily airstrikes. The administration has asserted … Continue Reading
February 11, 2015
Obama’s Dual View of War Power Seeks Limits and Leeway
WASHINGTON - In seeking authorization for his six-month-old military campaign against the Islamic State terrorist group, President Obamaon Wednesday did something that few if any of his predecessors have done: He asked Congress to restrict the ability of the commander in chief to wage war against an overseas enemy. The proposed legislation Mr. Obama sent to Capitol Hill would impose a three-year limit on American action that has been conducted largely from the air and, while allowing Special … Continue Reading
February 11, 2015
Obama Asks Congress to Authorize Three-Year ISIS Fight
WASHINGTON - President Obama on Wednesday formally asked Congress to authorize a three-year military campaign against the terrorist group the Islamic State that would avoid a large-scale invasion and occupation but in addition to air power could include limited ground operations by American forces to hunt down enemy leaders or rescue American personnel. A proposal sent by the White House to Capitol Hill on Wednesday would formally give the president the power to continue the airstrikes he … Continue Reading
February 11, 2015
Obama Sends Letter to Congress Seeking Authorization of ISIS Fight
WASHINGTON - President Obama on Wednesday formally askedCongress to authorize a three-year military campaign against the terrorist group the Islamic State that would avoid a large-scale invasion and occupation but in addition to air power could include limited ground operations by American forces to hunt down enemy leaders or rescue American personnel. A proposal sent by the White House to Capitol Hill on Wednesday would formally give the president the power to continue the airstrikes he has … Continue Reading
February 11, 2015
White House’s plan for war: What, exactly, does “enduring offensive ground combat operations” mean?
The White House finally got around to submitting its draft authorization for use of military force for Congress to consider, debate, amend, vote on, ignore, ruin, whatever. And if it passes in some form or another, the war that's already been underway for nearly six months might actually rest on a solid legal foundation. The good news for people who don't like open-ended ground wars - which, shockingly but not shockingly, is not everyone - is that the administration won't pursue what could … Continue Reading
February 11, 2015
Obama Asks Congress to Authorize Military Action Against Islamic State
WASHINGTON-President Barack Obama 's proposal to Congress for a new resolutionthat would authorize the U.S.-led military operation against Islamic State marks the beginning of a renewed national debate over the scope of wartime powers that should be afforded to the commander-in-chief. Mr. Obama's proposed new Authorization for Use of Military Force, known as AUMF, drew mixed reactions on Capitol Hill after lawmakers formally received it on Wednesday. Democrats advocated for strict limitations … Continue Reading
February 11, 2015
The Five Words That Democrats Don’t Like in Obama’s War Powers Request
One phrase in President Obama's new request for congressional authority to fight Islamic militants in Syria and Iraq is causing a backlash among Democrats: "enduring offensive ground combat operations." The phrase, according to California Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, is meant to signal that President Obama wouldn't commit the country to another war like the one he campaigned against in 2008. "It's another way of saying this won't be Iraq Part II or … Continue Reading
February 11, 2015
Obama makes formal request for war authorization against Islamic State
President Obama asked Congress Wednesday for formal authority to use the U.S. military to combat the Islamic State, calling the group "a grave threat to . . . the national security of the United States and its allies and partners." The request for a new Authorization for the Use of Military Force, or AUMF, marks the first time Obama has requested approval for military action in his six-year presidency and comes more than six months after the start of U.S. airstrikes against the … Continue Reading
February 10, 2015
Obama ready to ask Congress to authorize fight against Islamic State
The White House is set to ask lawmakers to approve legislation that would rule out the use of ground troops for extended combat operations against Islamic State militants, but place no geographic restrictions on the military campaign, lawmakers said Tuesday. Obama administration officials were in the final stage of lengthy consultations with members of Congress over the draft of a new authorization for the use of military force, known as an AUMF, against Islamic State, which could be … Continue Reading
February 10, 2015
Obama to Seek War Power Bill From Congress, to Fight ISIS
WASHINGTON - The Obama administration has informed lawmakers that the president will seek a formal authorization to fight the Islamic State that would prohibit the use of "enduring offensive ground forces" and limit engagement to three years. The approach offers what the White House hopes is a middle way on Capitol Hill for those on the right and left who remain deeply skeptical of its plans to thwart extremist groups. The request, which could come in writing as early as Wednesday morning, … Continue Reading
February 10, 2015
Fight Islamic State the Right Way
President Barack Obama is about to ask Congress to authorize a war he has been waging for six months. It's about time -- and Congress shouldn't waste any as it takes up the question. In the 13-plus years since the Sept. 11 attacks, two presidents have relied on three legal authorizations for the fight against Islamic terrorism: Article II of the Constitution, which makes the president commander in chief; the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force for Afghanistan; and the 2002 … Continue Reading
February 05, 2015
Kerry holds talks in Ukraine amid bid by European partners to quell fighting
KIEV, Ukraine - Diplomats and leaders from Europe and the United States converged in the Ukrainian capital Thursday in an effort to quell an growing offensive by pro-Russian separatists that has left civilians trapped by heavy shelling. Secretary of State John F. Kerry met with Ukraine's president and prime minister, bearing a modest package of humanitarian aid, but stopping short of the expanding military assistance sought by Ukraine. Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and … Continue Reading
February 05, 2015
Obama poised to ask Congress for new war
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama is poised in coming days to ask Congress for new authority to use U.S. military force against Islamic State militants, the White House said Thursday. But the top Republican in Congress warned it won't be easy to pass the measure and that it will be up to Obama to rally support from lawmakers and the public. "His actions are going to be an important part of trying for us to get the votes to actually pass an authorization," House Speaker John Boehner, … Continue Reading
February 04, 2015
Early earthquake warning system gets $5 million in Obama budget
Congressional leaders are lauding the Obama Administration's inclusion of a funding request for $5 million in its proposed annual budget to go towards building and maintaining an earthquake early detection system for the West Coast. "This is the first time the Administration has made earthquake early warning system funding a priority in its own budget," said Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank). "It demonstrates an ongoing federal commitment to make this happen." An early detection system could … Continue Reading
February 04, 2015
Lawmakers Cheer White House Support For Early Quake Warning System
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com/AP) - California lawmakers say President Barack Obama's recommendation to spend $5 million next year on an early earthquake warning system for the West Coast represents a significant breakthrough. KNX 1070's Pete Demetriou reports Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Burbank Congressman Adam Schiff, both Democrats, say the move marks the first time Obama has included funding for the project in his annual budget recommendation. The Earthquake Early Warning system, which is being … Continue Reading
February 01, 2015
Democrat Seeks To Authorize Operations Against ISIS
Rep. Adam Schiff of California plans to introduce a bill to allow congressional authorization of military operations against ISIS. NPR's Rachel Martin talks to Rep. Schiff about the new legislation. RACHEL MARTIN, HOST: The U.S. military campaign against ISIS has been going on since August. And in that time, the U.S. has launched air strikes and trained Iraqi security forces without official authorization from Congress. Right now, the military operations are legal under resolutions passed by … Continue Reading
January 31, 2015
Editorial: Retroactively Authorizing War
They went largely unnoticed, four words President Obama ad-libbed during the State of the Union address last month as he asked lawmakers to provide legal cover for America's military intervention in Iraq and Syria. "We need that authority," the president said, adding a line to the prepared remarks on his teleprompter that seemed to acknowledge a reality about which his administration has been inexcusably dishonest. As the new Congress gets settled in, the debate over the scope and legal … Continue Reading
January 30, 2015
Six months later, Congress needs to vote on Obama's war against Islamic State
A puzzling aspect of President Obama's war against Islamic State, a military campaign that is now almost six months old, is his attitude toward congressional approval for the mission. In a speech in September, Obama insisted that he already possessed all the legal authority he needed to launch airstrikes against the group in Iraq and Syria, though he added vaguely: "I welcome congressional support for this effort." But in his State of the Union address, he shifted gears and called on … Continue Reading
January 30, 2015
Benghazi Hearing: A Prelude to Clinton 2016?
Congress's investigation into the terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans seems certain to spill into the 2016 presidential race, with Republicans moving to question Hillary Clinton at a politically opportune moment when her likely presidential campaign is up and running. Mrs. Clinton, the former secretary of state, has agreed to testify before a House select committee that is examining the September 2012 attacks at a U.S. diplomatic mission, lawmakers say. She took … Continue Reading
January 28, 2015
Bucking Obama, senior Democrat seeks limits on war against Islamic State
Frustrated with White House inaction, a senior House of Representatives Democrat will introduce legislation Wednesday formally authorizing President Barack Obama's war on the so-called Islamic State nearly six months after it began. Rep. Adam Schiff's Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) would impose strict limits that the Pentagon publicly opposes, forbidding the use of U.S. ground troops to carry out combat missions and limiting military action to Iraq and Syria. Schiff, the … Continue Reading