--- title: Obama Asks Congress for Permission to Keep Fighting ISIS description: President Obama asked Congress for authorization to continue fighting Islamic militants in Iraq and Syria. canonical: https://time.com/3704903/obama-aumf-isis-syria/ author: Alex Rogers article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-02-11T15:46:45.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-01T09:02:47.259Z article:section: Politics og:title: Obama Asks Congress for Permission to Keep Fighting ISIS og:description: Lawmakers are already skeptical. og:url: https://time.com/3704903/obama-aumf-isis-syria/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1e4146a95f10d7d7/69877eb0f887dc5a3ce8a0b9/obama-isis.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: President Obama speaks on budget og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Obama Asks Congress for Permission to Keep Fighting ISIS twitter:description: Lawmakers are already skeptical. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1e4146a95f10d7d7/69877eb0f887dc5a3ce8a0b9/obama-isis.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Obama Asks Congress for Permission to Keep Fighting ISIS > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=e83f498b-49e2-4cd5-9c9b-ef77d7d13e8c&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Inside ISIS and Al-Qaeda’s Battle for Brand Supremacy [Watch (HLS stream): Inside ISIS and Al-Qaeda’s Battle for Brand Supremacy](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/gK3s3WLk.m3u8) (5:16)  _Published 2015-02-04. They may share similar goals but the two groups are bitter rivals_ by [Alex Rogers](https://time.com/author/alex-rogers/) ## Alex Rogers Feb 11, 2015 3:46 PM UTC by [Alex Rogers](https://time.com/author/alex-rogers/) ## Alex Rogers Feb 11, 2015 3:46 PM UTC President Obama asked Congress Wednesday for authorization to continue fighting Islamic militants in Iraq and Syria, though lawmakers are already raising questions about the details of the plan. In his request, Obama says ISIS is responsible for the death of four Americans and poses “a grave threat” to Middle East stability and to the national security interests of the U.S. and allies. The Administration has been fighting ISIS under congressional authority the Bush Administration received in 2001 and 2002 to attack Iraq and the perpetrators of 9/11\. Obama has called ISIS a “different type of enemy” that requires a new legal authority to defeat. Obama made clear that the authority he is asking for—known as an Authorization for Use of Military Force or an AUMF—would not ensnare a weary nation into the type of war he campaigned against in 2008\. “My Administration’s [draft AUMF](http://time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/aumf%5F02112015.pdf) would not authorize long‑term, large-scale ground combat operations like those our Nation conducted in Iraq and Afghanistan,” he wrote. “Local forces, rather than U.S. military forces, should be deployed to conduct such operations.” The authorization, which is under three pages, will end in three years and does not allow “enduring offensive ground combat operations.” It defines the enemy as “organizations fighting for, on behalf of, or alongside \[ISIS\] or any closely-related successor entity in hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners.” It would repeal the 2002 authorization, but would not limit the fight to Iraq and Syria as some had hoped. The AUMF will face opposition from both Republicans and Democrats. House Speaker John Boehner cautioned that the draft was an “important step forward” but only the “beginning of a legislative process” that would include hearings and mark-ups of the resolution. He also said that he hasn’t seen a strategy put forward by the Administration that accomplishes its goal to “degrade and defeat” ISIS. “We have an awful lot of work to do,” he said. Senate Democrats, who were briefed by Obama’s Chief of Staff Denis McDonough and legal counsel Neil Eggleston on Tuesday, have already [begun to question](http://www.kaine.senate.gov/press-releases/kaine-statement-on-president-obamas-proposed-authorization-for-use-of-military-force-against-isil) what exactly the Administration means by “enduring offensive ground combat operations.” “What’s enduring? What’s offensive?” Illnois Sen. Dick Durbin told [_National Journal_](http://www.nationaljournal.com/white-house/here-s-the-white-house-request-for-the-use-force-against-the-islamic-state-20150211). ### See the U.S. Military's Last Days of Combat in Afghanistan  A U.S. soldier from the 3rd Cavalry Regiment waits for a CH-47 Chinook helicopter after an advising mission at the Afghan National Army headquarters for the 203rd Corps in the Paktia province of Afghanistan on Dec. 21, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  U.S. soldiers from 3rd Cavalry Regiment flag a car to stop to be screened for explosives near forward operating base Gamberi in the Laghman province of Afghanistan on Dec. 14, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  A crew member climbs into a U.S. Blackhawk helicopter before it takes off following a mission to take Brigadier General Christopher Bentley to inspect an Afghan National police installation in the Nangarhar province of Afghanistan on Dec. 16, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  A U.S. soldier from the 3rd Cavalry Regiment is watched as he fires a squad automatic weapon during a training mission near forward operating base Gamberi, in the Laghman province of Afghanistan on Dec. 15, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  U.S. soldiers in Dragon Company of the 3rd Cavalry Regiment watch rounds explode downrange during a mortar exercise near forward operating base Gamberi in the Laghman province of Afghanistan on Dec. 26, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  A U.S. soldier from the 3rd Cavalry Regiment uses the optic on his rifle to observe Afghans in the distance, near forward operating base Gamberi, in the Laghman province of Afghanistan, Dec. 15, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  U.S. soldiers from the 3rd Cavalry Regiment interact with men selected to be biometrically screened near forward operating base Gamberi in the Laghman province of Afghanistan on Dec. 14, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  Humvees for the Afghan National Army are lined up waiting for repair parts at the Afghan National Army headquarters for the 203rd Corps in the Paktia province of Afghanistan on Dec. 21, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  Brigadier General Christopher Bentley (2nd R) and U.S. soldiers from the 3rd Cavalry Regiment take part in a Christmas Eve celebration on forward operating base Gamberi in the Laghman province of Afghanistan on Dec. 24, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  A U.S. soldier from the 3rd Cavalry Regiment relaxes in his quarters after taking part in a mortar exercise on forward operating base Gamberi in the Laghman province of Afghanistan on Dec. 24, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  U.S. soldiers play volleyball at forward operating base Fenty in the Nangarhar province of Afghanistan on Dec. 21, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  U.S. soldiers from the 3rd Cavalry Regiment wait in line to get food during a Christmas day lunch at forward operating base Gamberi in the Laghman province of Afghanistan on Dec. 25, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  U.S. soldiers from the 3rd Cavalry Regiment greet their Afghan police counterparts during an advising mission near Jalalabad in the Nangarhar province of Afghanistan on Dec. 20, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  U.S. soldiers from the 3rd Cavalry Regiment fire a 120mm mortar during an exercise on forward operating base Gamberi in the Laghman province of Afghanistan on Dec. 24, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  U.S. soldiers from the 3rd Cavalry Regiment listen to a translation of an advising meeting at an Afghan National Army base near forward operating base Gamberi in the Laghman province of Afghanistan on Dec. 13, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  A U.S. soldier from Grim Company of the 3rd Cavalry Regiment sits in an MRAP vehicle as he prepares for an early morning mission at Forward Operating Base Fenty in the Nangarhar province of Afghanistan on Dec. 19, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  A mortar flies out of a tube during a mortar exercise for U.S. soldiers in Dragon Company of the 3rd Cavalry Regiment near forward operating base Gamberi in the Laghman province of Afghanistan on Dec. 26, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  Lieutenant Charles McDonald prepares a platoon of U.S. soldiers from Grim Company of the 3rd Cavalry Regiment before an early morning mission at Forward Operating Base Fenty in the Nangarhar province of Afghanistan on Dec. 19, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  U.S. soldiers from the 3rd Cavalry Regiment watch "Die Hard" projected onto an outdoor wall as part of Christmas Day celebrations on forward operating base Gamberi in the Laghman province of Afghanistan on Dec. 25, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  U.S. soldiers from the 3rd Cavalry Regiment take part in an artillery exercise on forward operating base Gamberi in the Laghman province of Afghanistan on Dec. 24, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  U.S. soldiers from Grim Company of the 3rd Cavalry Regiment walk down the street near an Afghan police checkpoint during a mission near Forward Operating Base Fenty in the Nangarhar province of Afghanistan on Dec. 19, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  A U.S. soldier from the 3rd Cavalry Regiment walks through an Afghan police station near Jalalabad in the Nangarhar province of Afghanistan on Dec. 20, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  U.S. soldiers from the 3rd Cavalry Regiment prepare for a mission at Forward Operating Base Fenty in the Nangarhar province of Afghanistan on Dec. 20, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  U.S. soldiers from the 3rd Cavalry Regiment load into a CH-47 Chinook helicopter for an advising mission to an Afghan National Army base at forward operating base Fenty in the Nangarhar province of Afghanistan on Dec. 21, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  A U.S. soldier from D Troop of the 3rd Cavalry Regiment carries a backpack to a shipping container during preparations for leaving Afghanistan at forward operating base Gamberi in the Laghman province of Afghanistan on Dec. 28, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] This is Amadi Coulibaly, one of the gunmen in the terrorist attacks in Paris. In this video, which surfaced four days after the attacks, he's pledging allegiance to the leader of ISIS. [ FOREIGN ] But days before this video was recorded, another assailant, Cherif Kouachi, claimed allegiance to a different jihadist. Al Qaeda and Yemen. [ FOREIGN ] We don't know how closely the gunman actually coordinated with the two terrorist organizations. But this episode shows how the face of radicalism has changed since 9 / 11. Al Qaeda is no longer the key player when it comes to Islamic terrorism against the West. Instead, multiple jihad groups cooperate and at times compete with one another. al- Qaeda is one of the longest operating Jihadist militant organizations, having plotted against the west since the early 1990s. but in the past decade, its core leadership has been decimated by drone and special ops in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Yemen. It lost its spiritual leader, Osama Bin Laden, almost five years ago. Into the vacuum has stepped a tangled web of jihadi groups. With similar ambitions, but fiercer tactics. [ FOREIGN ] Al Qaeda is now led by Egyptian born Ayman Al- Zawahiri, Bin Laden's former personal physician and ideological heir. But the recent creation and descent of ISIS created chaos in Al Qaeda's inner order. ISIS leader, Abu Bakr al- Baghdadi ,. Rose in the ranks of another al- Qaeda offshoot, al- Qaeda in Iraq. [ FOREIGN ] The native Iraqi has a Ph. D. in Islamic studies and is a young proven leader. But he only became a militant after the Iraq invasion a generation apart from the older order of al- Qaeda leaders. Al Qaeda and its Iraqi branch coexisted until 2013 when one voice recording changed everything. [ UNKNOWN ] [ MUSIC ] In 2013 [ UNKNOWN ] once leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, published a recording online and that's in the official creation of ISIS. ISIS. His intention was to extend his power from Iraq into Syria. But Zawahiri, Bin Laden's successor and leader of core Al Qaeda, had not authorized Baghdadi's move into Syria. He wanted Baghdadi to keep his power within Iraq's borders. But Baghdadi refused and with that, Al Qaeda dissociated itself from ISIS. ISIS. It was the first time that al Qaeda had formally repudiated an affiliate. However, the two groups are divided by more than just a leadership squabble. While al Qaeda and ISIS are tied by similar extremist ideology, inspired by a violent interpretation of Islam. They disagree on tactics and objectives. While both groups share Osama bin Laden's original goal of reestablishing the Caliphate, they disagree on how to bring it about. Other al- Qaeda affiliates, like al- Qaeda. Al- Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and al- Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb have not recognized ISIS as legitimate. These groups leadership based in Yemen and in dessert regions of southern Algeria are also part of the network that trained under Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan. To make things even more complicated, another organization has inserted itself into the fray, beyond the Arab world, Boko Haram, an Islamist group founded in Nigeria, in 2002. The group has so far limited itself to Nigeria's territory, where it has kidnapped scores of young people, in order to further it's goal of eliminating Western education. There's some evidence that Boko Haram has received training and support from Al Qaeda's northwest Africa affiliate. But recently, Boko Haram has increasingly aligned itself with ISIS, drawn by it's successes. In fact, a month after ISIS declared its caliphate. Boko Haram also began taking land in northern Nigeria. Now, it controls an area about the size of West Virgina. And after ISIS' highly produced videos began appearing online, Boko Haram started copying their style. They adapted the flag used by ISIS. Began to mirror ISIS' language and statements. And even used the same Islamic verses as background audio. [ MUSIC ] [ FOREIGN ] It's premature to speak of a formal link between ISIS and Boko Haram. But the big question is whether the African group is simply imitating ISIS or if there is actually formal communication. Between the two groups. No matter the connections or otherwise between these groups recent history suggests the biggest risk to the west is from so called lone wolves. Radical sympathisers like Amidi [ UNKNOWN ] who are not necessarily aware or don't care about leadership squabbles at the top. They just share their goal of destabilizing the west. 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