--- title: White House: Iraq War Vote Obama Opposed Could Authorize ISIS Strikes description: President Barack Obama won the White House largely on his opposition to the Iraq War and was re-elected in 2012 on having ended the conflict.... canonical: https://time.com/3362683/obama-isis-iraq-syria-war-aumf/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-09-13T22:03:22.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:06:26.223Z article:section: Politics og:title: White House: Iraq War Vote Obama Opposed Could Authorize ISIS Strikes og:description: President Barack Obama won the White House largely on his opposition to the Iraq War and was re-elected in 2012 on having ended the conflict.... og:url: https://time.com/3362683/obama-isis-iraq-syria-war-aumf/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt74391fd45f85b929/6986a3301eebf783703729f1/ap69154226957.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1500 og:image:height: 844 og:image:alt: Barack Obama og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: White House: Iraq War Vote Obama Opposed Could Authorize ISIS Strikes twitter:description: President Barack Obama won the White House largely on his opposition to the Iraq War and was re-elected in 2012 on having ended the conflict.... twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt74391fd45f85b929/6986a3301eebf783703729f1/ap69154226957.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # White House: Iraq War Vote Obama Opposed Could Be Used for ISIS Strikes > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Watch: Obama on How It's Time to Eradicate ISIS [Watch (HLS stream): Watch: Obama on How It's Time to Eradicate ISIS](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/RgGRSWqA.m3u8) (1:53)  _Published 2014-09-11. The President addresses the nation in primetime about the next front in a long war against Islamic extremism_ by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Sep 13, 2014 10:03 PM UTC  President Barack Obama salutes as he arrives on the South Lawn of the White House, in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 12, 2014 President Barack Obama salutes as he arrives on the South Lawn of the White House, in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 12, 2014 Evan Vucci—AP by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Sep 13, 2014 10:03 PM UTC President Barack Obama won the White House largely on his opposition to the Iraq War and was re-elected in 2012 on having ended the conflict. But his Administration is using the never repealed authorization vote as a supplementary legal justification for the planned expansion of the campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS). The New York _Times_ first [reported](http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/09/13/world/americas/obama-sees-iraq-resolution-as-a-legal-basis-for-airstrikes-official-says.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&smid=tw-nytimesworld&%5Fr=1&referrer=) Friday that Obama Administration officials believe that the 2002 law which authorized the war “would serve as an alternative statutory authority basis on which the President may rely for military action in Iraq.” The news comes just months after National Security Adviser Susan Rice said the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) was no longer operative. “With American combat troops having completed their withdrawal from Iraq on December 18, 2001, the Iraq AUMF is no longer used for any U.S. government activities and the Administration fully supports its repeal,” Rice [wrote](http://armedservices.house.gov/index.cfm/files/serve?File%5Fid=D6A70EF0-E7ED-4A8B-B39B-9774CE10B7D3) to Speaker of the House John Boehner in July. During the 2008 Democratic presidential primary, Obama eviscerated then Senator Hillary Clinton for her vote in favor of the 2002 Iraq War Resolution, and in the election, drew sharp contrast with Senator John McCain over how to bring the war to an end. A senior Administration official says the White House still supports repealing the 2002 law, and fully believes it can use the 2001 AUMF, passed after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, to allow the U.S. to strike al-Qaeda, to justify the strikes against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. But the 2002 law would provide additional legal underpinning to strikes in Iraq — and even Syria — as scholars question the applicability of the 2001 authorization to ISIS, which publicly broke with al-Qaeda in Iraq. “We believe that the President would have the statutory authority to conduct air strikes against \[ISIS\] in Syria under the 2002 AUMF in at least some circumstances,” the official said. For the opening stages of the American air campaign, the 160-strike effort largely restricted to humanitarian missions, and protecting American personnel and facilities, Obama relied on his constitutional authority to protect the American people. Hours before Obama announced a broader campaign to “degrade and ultimately destroy” the Islamist militant group Wednesday, officials revealed that Obama would rely on the 2001 AUMF, which the Administration had said previously it hopes to reign in. In a statement, the senior Administration official explained how the White House applies the 2001 law to ISIS: --- > “” --- ## Transcript ISIL is a terrorist organization, pure and simple. And it has no vision other than the slaughter of all who stand in its way. In a region that has known so much bloodshed, these terrorists are unique in their brutality. If left unchecked, these terrorists could pose a growing threat beyond that region. Including to the United States. Now let's make two things clear, ISIL is not Islamic. No religion condones the killing of innocents. And the vast majority of ISIL's victims have been Muslim. Our intelligence community believes that thousands of foreigners, including Europeans and some Americans. Have joined them, in Syria and Iraq. Trained and battle hardened, these fighters could try to return to their home countries and carry out deadly attacks. So tonight, with a new Iraqi government in place, and following consultations with allies abroad, and Congress at home, I can announce that America will lead a broad coalition. To roll back this terrorist threat. Our objective is clear. We will degrade and ultimately destroy ISIL. Through a comprehensive and sustained counter- terrorism strategy. Moreover I've made it clear that we will hunt down terrorists who threaten our county wherever they are. That means I will not hesitate to take action against ISIL in Syria. As well as Iraq. This is a core principle of my presidency. If you threaten America, you will find no safe haven. It will take time to eradicate a cancer like ISIS, and any time we take military action there are risks involved. May god bless our troops. And may God bless the United States of America. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3362683/obama-isis-iraq-syria-war-aumf/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3362683/obama-isis-iraq-syria-war-aumf/"},"headline":"White House: Iraq War Vote Obama Opposed Could Be Used for ISIS Strikes","datePublished":"2014-09-13T22:03:22.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:06:26.223Z","description":"President Barack Obama won the White House largely on his opposition to the Iraq War and was re-elected in 2012 on having ended the conflict....","url":"https://time.com/3362683/obama-isis-iraq-syria-war-aumf/","keywords":["Foreign Policy","Hillary Clinton","Barack Obama","White House","Syria","Iraq","ISIS","John McCain"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt74391fd45f85b929/6986a3301eebf783703729f1/ap69154226957.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Zeke Miller","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt74391fd45f85b929/6986a3301eebf783703729f1/ap69154226957.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Barack Obama","caption":"Barack Obama","creditText":"Evan Vucci—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/foreign-policy/","name":"Foreign Policy"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3362683/obama-isis-iraq-syria-war-aumf/","name":"White House: Iraq War Vote Obama Opposed Could Be Used for ISIS Strikes"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Watch: Obama on How It's Time to Eradicate ISIS","description":"The President addresses the nation in primetime about the next front in a long war against Islamic extremism","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/RgGRSWqA/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-09-11T02:03:57.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/RgGRSWqA.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3362683/obama-isis-iraq-syria-war-aumf/","duration":"PT1M53S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3362683/obama-isis-iraq-syria-war-aumf/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```