I argue that the recent air strike was legal, but overall US military intervention in Syria still lacks required congressional authorization. Biden may be trying to change that; but history gives reason for skepticism.
This initiative might help restore congressional control over war authorization. But there is reason for skepticism that it will pan out.
Just keep an eye on the small print. The wars might officially end while still allowing inappropriate military meddling.
The strike was probably legal (as were similar small-scale strikes by Trump). But there are serious constitutional problems with the overall US military presence in Syria.
Trump brought chaos to a region already on the brink, and the unintended consequences of his actions will reverberate for years to come.
The Kurds of Northern Syria are trying something different, for better or worse.
American troops are risking their lives to defend Syrian oil fields, but U.S. law is stopping anyone from using the oil. One man tried to “fix” the situation—or was it a con?
"Intervention after intervention hasn't had the intended consequence. We've got more chaos."
The Kentucky senator makes the case for less American military involvement abroad.
The senator took a lot of heat five years ago for being anti-interventionist in Syria yet pro-war against ISIS.
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The mishandling of the Syrian withdrawal appears to have created less stability in Syria and considerably weakened Trump's ability to dictate foreign policy—a situation where actually bringing the troops home now seems even more farfetched.
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"As president I will end these regime change wars."
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Trust in the media is at historic lows.
If Trump wants credit for ending wars in the Middle East, he'll have to actually reduce the number of Americans deployed there.
Plus: The Kurds "didn't help us in the Second World War" anyway, says the president. And more...
Reshuffling is not only a haphazard half-measure—it is no substitute for the complete withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria.
Tulsi Gabbard and Stossel discuss war, drug legalization, and government spending.
Plus: Guns, gender discrimination, religious schools, immigrants, and abortion before the Supreme Court; thousands injured in Iraqi protests; and more...
ISIS' terror should not be minimized, but Washington should refrain from inflating it to justify unnecessary military action.
Both the libertarian-leaning Republican and the democratic socialist want Trump to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria.
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Trump is routinely accused, with good reason, of distorting the facts and failing to face reality. It's time for his critics to take a good long look in the mirror.
But Amash's reaction wasn't all positive.
The president's speech was a mixed bag on foreign policy.
Trump decided to pull U.S. troops out of Syria. But no one knows when or how it's happening and Congress is nowhere to be found.
It should lift the travel ban and bring them with it
National Security Adviser John Bolton says the U.S.'s withdrawal is conditioned on protection of the Kurds, total elimination of ISIS.
They have been loyal allies and need an exit strategy too
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The withdrawals from Syria and Afghanistan reflect a welcome willingness to question endless military commitments.
While the Syria intervention lacked proper congressional authorization, constitutional considerations had nothing to do with Trump's withdrawal decision. Indeed, his administration has doubled down on Obama-era arguments asserting broad presidential authority to initiate military interventions.
Such fear is a sign of an exhausted establishment that can't justify decades of expensive failure.
Reason editors' best and worst moments of 2018, including the president's welcome and long-overdue drawdown from Afghanistan
We will make it through the weekend, folks, but our problems will outlast the current president, alas.
Plus: United Nations goes to bat for Julian Assange and Slack censors chat with Iranians.
"Does the USA want to be the Policeman of the Middle East?" the president asks-and gets a resounding yes from Republicans and Democrats.
Donald Trump explains his decision to withdraw from Syria directly to the American people.
Rep. Justin Amash: "U.S. forces should not be engaged in Syria...without legitimate military justification AND proper congressional authorization."
We shouldn't have been there (or Iraq) in the first place.
Technically he's been yelling it at all of us for years now.
Bilal Abdul Kareem has been nearly droned in Syria five times already. A federal judge agrees his lawsuit over the matter can proceed.
The cautious prudence the U.S. desperately needed after a decade and a half of shoot-from-the-hip interventionism has been relegated to a talking point.
A lot of people are dying in unauthorized wars.
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