House votes to keep troops in ISIS fight

The House voted resoundingly Wednesday to keep troops stationed abroad fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) despite the absence of a formal congressional authorization for military action against the group, according to The Hill, June 17, 2015.
In the first vote of its kind since the Obama administration began airstrikes ten months ago, the House defeated a resolution requiring the president to remove troops within the next six months. The vote was 139-288.
All but 19 Republicans voted against the measure, and 120 Democrats voted in favor. Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) voted “present.”
Rep. Jim McGovern’s (D-Mass.) resolution would have required the removal of troops in Iraq and Syria within 30 days. But the deadline could have been pushed to the end of 2015 if the Obama administration determined it was not safe to withdraw in a shorter timeframe.
McGovern, who authored the measure with Reps. Walter Jones (R-N.C.) and Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), said the United States shouldn’t keep deploying troops into harm’s way unless Congress formally authorizes war against ISIS.
“Either Congress needs to live up to its responsibilities and authorize this war, or by its continuing neglect and indifference our troops should be withdrawn and allowed to come home,” McGovern said.

The Obama administration has been citing the 2001 and 2002 authorizations of military force (AUMF) in Afghanistan and Iraq as the legal basis for the military campaign against ISIS.

But other Democrats, including Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said even as they supported a new AUMF, voting to withdraw troops amid the escalating violence would send the wrong message.

“That’s no way to defeat ISIS or to help the people of Iraq and Syria,” Engel said. “I understand the frustration but this is like cutting off your nose to spite your face.”

The Obama administration began ordering troops to Iraq about a year ago, on June 16. It ordered 275 troops to provide security for the U.S. Embassy and personnel there.

The number of troops grew to 3,550 after Obama authorized another 450 troops last week. The troops are being deployed to train and equip the Iraqi military against ISIS.