Overseas Contingency Operation

Global War on Terrorism [ GWOT ]

The US House of Representatives voted on 17 June 2021 to repeal the 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) against Iraq. The law was used to provide legal sanction for the 2003 invasion that overthrew Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, but critics say it has been used to authorize other military actions in recent years, for which it was not intended. The lower congressional chamber voted 268-161 to repeal the law on Thursday, with 49 Republicans crossing the aisle to support repeal alongside 219 Democrats.

The 2002 law had been passed by a wider margin in a Republican-led House in October 2002 and signed into law by then-President George W. Bush. The 2002 AUMF built on a 2001 AUMF passed in the days after the September 11 terrorist attacks that served as the basis for the War on Terror, authorizing military action even in undeclared warzones if the targets were from the Al-Qaeda terrorist group responsible for the attacks or were connected to the group.

The Senate bill also seeks to revoke the 1991 AUMF, which served as the authorization for Operation Desert Storm. If it passes, both chambers will have to reconcile their two versions of the bill before it can be sent to US President Joe Biden to sign into law.

Jeremy Scahill, the National Security correspondent for The Nation magazine, testified before the House Judiciary Committee, December 9, 2010, "Under the Bush administration, US Special Forces were operating in 60 countries. Under President Obama, they are now in 75 nations. The Obama administration's expansion of Special Forces activities globally stems from a classified order dating back to the Bush administration. Originally signed in early 2004 by then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, it is known as the “AQN ExOrd," or Al Qaeda Network Execute Order. The AQN ExOrd was intended to cut through bureaucratic and legal processes, allowing US Special Forces to move into “denied” areas or countries beyond the official battle zones of Iraq and Afghanistan. As a Special Operations veteran told me, "The ExOrd spells out that we reserve the right to unilaterally act against al Qaeda and its affiliates anywhere in the world that they operate." The current mindset in the White House, he told me, is that "the Pentagon is already empowered to do these things, so let the Joint Special Operations Command off the leash. And that's what this White House has done." He added: "JSOC has been more empowered more under this administration than any other in recent history. No question." "The Obama administration took the [Bush-era] order and went above and beyond," he said. "The world is the battlefield, we've returned to that.""

• 01 Sep 2011
• 01 Mar 2011
• 06 Aug 2010
• 01 Oct 2009
• 01 Jan 2009
• 01 Jun 2008
• 15 Jan 2005
• 13 Jul 2004
• 01 Jul 2004
• 19 May 2004
• 29 Aug 2003
• 01 Jun 2003
• 01 May 2003
• 01 Mar 2003
• 01 Jan 2003
• 02 Dec 2002
• 18 Nov 2002
• 28 Oct 2002
• 21 Oct 2002
• Prior OEF Orbat

• 16 Mar 2004
• 31 Dec 2003