--- title: ISIL: Rand Paul Wants to Declare War Against ISIS description: “War cannot be initiated without Congress” canonical: https://time.com/3602015/isil-isis-rand-paul-barack-obama/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-11-24T13:13:39.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:40:38.268Z article:section: Politics og:title: ISIL: Rand Paul Wants to Declare War Against ISIS og:description: “War cannot be initiated without Congress” og:url: https://time.com/3602015/isil-isis-rand-paul-barack-obama/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: ISIL: Rand Paul Wants to Declare War Against ISIS twitter:description: “War cannot be initiated without Congress” twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Rand Paul Wants to Declare War Against ISIS > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice 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. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=a57896a2-cab3-4f9d-b8ca-e30fe897267d&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: What the ISIS Flag Says About the Militant Group [Watch (HLS stream): What the ISIS Flag Says About the Militant Group](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/QFjP70IG.m3u8) (2:12)  _Published 2014-09-17. The black and white standard of the Sunni militants gives some insight into how the group sees itself_ by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Nov 24, 2014 1:13 PM UTC by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Nov 24, 2014 1:13 PM UTC Kentucky Republican Sen. [Rand Paul](http://time.com/3512657/rand-paul-reinventions/) [said in a new interview](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/24/us/politics/rand-paul-calls-for-a-formal-declaration-of-war-against-isis.html) that Congress should formally declare war against the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) as a way to limit the engagement against the militant group and take war powers back from President Barack Obama. “War cannot be initiated without Congress,” Paul told the New York _Times_ in advocating for the first formal declaration of war since World War II. Paul is circulating a resolution to do just that. A likely 2016 presidential candidate whose libertarian-leaning foreign policy is viewed skeptically by many conservatives and mainstream Republicans, Paul is likely to face backlash from members of his own party who don’t want to limit the President’s authority when it comes to fighting ISIS. “Conservatives are mad at him about immigration. And they’re mad about him using executive authority on Obamacare,” Paul said. “But this is another example where he doesn’t have much respect for Congress, and some conservatives don’t quite get that.” **MORE:** [The reinventions of Rand Paul](http://time.com/3512657/rand-paul-reinventions/) Paul told TIME earlier this year that his support for fighting ISIS, which has taken control of large swaths of Iraq and Syria, “doesn’t mean you give up your principles of thinking war is the last resort.” \[[_NYT_](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/24/us/politics/rand-paul-calls-for-a-formal-declaration-of-war-against-isis.html)\] ### Photos: On the Road with Rand Paul  Senator Rand Paul talks to voters at the Horry County Republican Party in Myrtle Beach, S.C. on Sept. 30th, 2014. Charles Ommanney for TIME  Senator Rand Paul talks with students at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, S.C. on Sept. 30th, 2014. Charles Ommanney for TIME  Senator Rand Paul's boots are seen as he talks with students at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, S.C. on Sept. 30th, 2014. Charles Ommanney for TIME  Senator Rand Paul bows his head in prayer before talking to voters at the Horry County Republican Party in Myrtle Beach, S.C. on Sept. 30th, 2014. Charles Ommanney for TIME  Senator Rand Paul and GOP Senatorial candidate Thom Tillis meet with diners at Big Ed's restaurant in Raleigh, N.C. on Oct. 1st, 2014. Charles Ommanney for TIME  Senator Rand Paul attends a BBQ event at the Donnelly Barn in Bowling Green, Ky. on Oct. 12th, 2014. Charles Ommanney for TIME  In a back tent, Senator Paul manages to have five minutes alone to go over his speech at the Donnelly Barn in Bowling Green, Ky. on Oct. 12, 2014. Charles Ommanney for TIME  Senator Rand Paul and Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell attend a BBQ event at the Donnelly Barn in Bowling Green, Ky. on Oct. 12th, 2014. Charles Ommanney for TIME  Senator Rand Paul speaks at a BBQ event at the Donnelly Barn in Bowling Green, Ky. on Oct. 12th, 2014. Charles Ommanney for TIME  The BBQ event's band at the Donnelly Barn in Bowling Green, Ky. on Oct. 12, 2014. Charles Ommanney for TIME ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] Images of masked militants carrying the stark black and white flag of ISIS, with the Islamic State in Iraq and greater Syria, have become commonplace across the Middle East. But what does the standard of the self- declared Islamic State say about the group and its supporters [ MUSIC ] The color, calligraphy, and choice of words on the flag reveal the group's history and also, its goals. The coarse, handwritten, Arabic script and white circle in the middle of the Isis flag are a copy of what's known as the seal of Mohammed. Which the prophet himself is believed to have used in his lifetime to seal letters he wrote to foreign leaders. The use of that seal has a veneer of historical authenticity to ISIS's mission. The symbolic weight of its stark black and white tones is meant to represent the solid blank flag of the prophet Muhammad's war banner. [ MUSIC ] Experts say there's a kind of Islamic end of days element to the flag, pitting the forces of Islam against the Christian west. But the words on the flag are just as important. The power of the flag comes from the use of the words, there is no god but god. The word Allah is seen as sacred by Muslims and hence it becomes sacrilegious to desecrate the flag across the Muslim world. For example, the Lebanese government, no fan of ISIS, called for burning the flag. To be banned, as burning anything with word Allah on it is viewed as an insult to Islam. The use of the flag is a conscious attempt by Isis to root itself in the history of Jihad and the desire to establish a [ UNKNOWN ], or Islamic State. Perhaps, the better we understand the group's symbol, the better we'll understand the cause. 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