Posted May 19, 2015 at 12:12pm
Speaker John A. Boehner, escalating his criticism of the administration’s handling of the war against the Islamic State terror group, said Tuesday the president should scrap his Authorization for Use of Military Force proposal and submit something different to Congress.
“The president, frankly, should withdraw the [AUMF] and start over,” Boehner said at a news conference. “We don’t have a strategy. … For over two years I’ve been calling on the president to develop an overarching strategy to deal with the terrorist threat. We don’t have one, and the fact is the threat is growing faster than what we and our allies can do to stop it.”
Boehner’s comments come as Obama’s initial AUMF request has been stalled for months in Congress.
The criticism also comes on the heels of the fall Sunday of the Iraqi city of Ramadi to the terror group, also known as ISIS or ISIL, which prompted Boehner to say Monday, in a statement provided to CQ Roll Call, “It is clearer than ever that the Obama administration must rethink its strategy that has repeatedly underestimated ISIL.
“For weeks, as terrorists advanced on Ramadi, the White House insisted that ISIL was on the defensive,” Boehner continued. “Now it says it has no new approach to announce. This must change — quickly.”
Boehner took a dig at Obama’s 2008 campaign rhetoric, telling reporters that, “‘hope’ is not a strategy,” when it comes to fighting terror.
Steven T. Dennis contributed to this report.
Related:
After Ramadi, Boehner Calls on Obama to Change Course on ISIL
The 114th: CQ Roll Call’s Guide to the New Congress
Get breaking news alerts and more from Roll Call in your inbox or on your iPhone.
