The Iraq War ended in 2011. The Gulf War in 1991. But the 1991 and 2002 Authorizations for Use of Military Force (AUMF) still haunts us, waiting for an opportunistic president to invoke the authority to wage war against Iran or other targets with a vague nexus to Iraq. We can’t end forever wars with blank check authorizations still on the books. Click here to tell Congress to repeal the 1991 and 2002 Authorizations for Use of Military Force Against Iraq -- and prevent future unaccountable extensions of the War on Terror. In DC, the 2002 AUMF has picked up the nickname “Zombie Authorization.” But there remain real risks to open-ended justification for forever wars. Under a broad interpretation of the 2002 AUMF, the U.S. military could wage war against Iran without authorization by Congress. This risk is not theoretical. In 2020, the Trump administration invoked the 2002 AUMF as partial legal justification for assassinating Iranian general Qasem Soleimani. An appalled Congress passed a joint resolution condemning this capacious interpretation of the 2002 AUMF, but the measure was vetoed by then-president Trump. Leaving the 2002 AUMF on the books leaves open the potential for the Executive Branch to conduct new drone strikes and other military actions without the approval of Congress. And much like the 2002 AUMF, the 1991 AUMF for the Gulf War remains on the books, disused yet ripe for abuse. Three decades after Desert Storm, it’s time to end this open-ended justification for war. Congress must assert its war powers and repeal these dangerous relics of the War on Terror.
Click here to email your Representative and Senators. If they have already cosponsored the legislation to repeal these AUMFs, we'll set you up with emails to thank them, and if they have not with emails asking them to do so.  | 
